Pokemon Resurrection
by Kecleon352
Summary: When a Pokemon Trainer suddenly finds himself transformed into a Pokemon, he'll have to go on an adventure to find, not only the reason why he transformed, but what role he plays in a far bigger plan.
1. A Lost Friend & The Mourning After

"Come on! We have to hurry!" With Pokeballs in each arm, Ronald and Damon didn't have much time left before the Pokemon Center collapsed.

They were jumping over rubble and leaping over chairs as they made their way out.

Damon leaped and managed to get out with the Pokeballs intact. Ronald made the same jump, but he accidentally left one of the Pokeballs inside.

Ronald knew what he had to do. He jumped back into the crumbling building. "Ronald! Don't!" Damon tried to get back in there too, but the police officer held him down saying it was too dangerous. "But my friend is in there!" he complained. But the officer said there was nothing he could do.

Ronald bounded like a Deerling towards the Pokeball. Then, he noticed the ceiling was starting to come down. He did the only thing he could think of, he slid toward the Pokeball and grabbed it just as some rubble crushed his leg.

He winced at the pain and realized what was going to happen. Damon had broken away from the officer and came up to the entrance. "Don't worry Ronald, I'm coming for you."

But Ronald held up his hand and shook his head. Then he threw the Pokeball at Damon who caught it. Damon suddenly realized what was happening. "No... No, Ronald. There has to be another way."

Finally, slowly, Ronald took off his belt, which had all of his Pokemon in their Pokeballs strapped to it. He could feel his Pokemon's sorrow as they knew what was happening as well.

He looked at Damon one last time and whispered. "Good-bye." He threw his belt at the same time as the ceiling caved in.

The belt landed in front of Damon. His hands shaking, he picked up the belt that belonged to his friend. He doubled over and wailed, screaming "RONALD!"

Later that day, Ronald's mother was sitting in her living room, when she heard someone knocking on the front door.

She raced to the door and opened it. Instead of who she was hoping for, she found Damon standing there, holding Ronald's hat.

"I'm sorry. This was all they could find." He handed the hat to her. She fell on her knees and, eyes locked on the hat, began to sob terribly.

The next thing that Damon did was release all of Ronald's Pokemon. They had known all along what was going to happen and, after taking one more look at each other, took off in different directions.

And so, on that day, people and Pokemon alike, came together and mourned the loss of a bright light, that shone across them all.

It was reported the next day that all of the Pokemon were rescued from the Pokemon Center. And there was only one fatality reported that day.

* * *

><p>And so, that's where our story ends. The brave actions of one child saved everyone that day, even at the cost of his own life.<p>

...

...YEAH RIGHT!

What? You thought that that little sob story was all that was there for this story? No way! There's a lot more that's bound to happen in the future, so stay tuned.


	2. A Divine Blessing & The Morning After

Oh, you're still here? I thought everyone ran away after my first chapter. And I was gonna put up a bunch of personal stuff here, too. Oh, well, so much for that. It's back to the story, now!

* * *

><p>In a realm, above the Pokemon world, lives the god of all Pokemon, Arceus. And as he peers down upon his world, he notices the sorrow emanating from the family and friends of Ronald.<p>

Arceus had actually watched over Ronald. He had noticed how kind he was to humans and Pokemon alike, regardless of disposition.

He realized what should be done. Arceus walked over to what appeared to be a beam of light, but actually was a steady stream of souls, passing on from this life to the next.

He reached into the stream and pulled out an orb, which was actually the soul of Ronald. He then walked to the edge of his world and dropped the soul back into the Pokemon world.

He watched as the soul floated back, and said, "My friend, your heart was filled with kindness and love for others. Your last selfless act proves this. Therefore, I shall give you a second chance at life. You may not return to your old body, but I shall grant you a new one. May you find happiness in your new life."

The soul fell gently through the trees as it cascaded to the forest floor. When it touched the ground, it began to change shape.

Out of the orb, four legs grew, which extended and eventually ended in hooves. A head appeared which formed into a muzzle, while an aqua-blue tail flowed out from behind. A horn formed on the forehead, and a red mane shot out from behind the head and reached down to the tail. Finally, the breath of life entered the newly-formed Keldeo and it, at last, settled down upon the forest floor, asleep.

A few hours later, Ronald woke up. His eyesight was hazy but it soon cleared up. He saw that it was early in the morning and he was in the middle of the forest, somewhere. He thought he might have been camping like so many other nights, but he didn't see a tent anywhere nearby.

He tried to get up but found that his legs weren't working right. So, he just laid there. His head felt light. He began asking himself, "What happened?" "Where am I?" "Where's my Pokemon?"

Ronald thought the dream he had last night. He remembered that Pokemon Center falling apart, and how he saved everyone, including his own Pokemon, just to be crushed in the end. It had to be a dream, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't be here. But, then, why...?

Ronald suddenly got really thirsty. He saw a stream of crystal-clear water flowing nearby. He got up. He couldn't stand up straight for some reason, but he didn't care. He crawled over to the water to relieve himself, and was shocked to see what was reflected in the water.

He looked down to find a different face staring back at him. He looked around to see if there was anyone else there, but he could see nobody else. He looked into the image again. It looked like some sort of Pokemon, but Ronald couldn't think of who it was.

Ronald moved his head around and saw that the Pokemon moved his head in the same way. Ronald winked, and the Pokemon winked back. Ronald starting to get scared.

He looked down at his hands and saw they were not hands, but hooves. "My hooves..." Ronald thought. Then he looked into the reflection once more. "That's my face."

Ronald was starting to panic. "What's going on? Why am I not dead? Why am I a Pokemon? Why-" He was interrupted by a ruffle coming from the bushes. He went to investigate, when suddenly, something came at him.

* * *

><p>Aaaaaaaaand, that'll do. You want to find out what happens next? Stay tuned to see.<p> 


	3. An Unfair Fight & A Hero Rising

Hello again! So, you wanna know what happened to Ronald, well, here it is!

* * *

><p>Ronald stumbled backwards as something flew out of the bushes. It landed behind him and ran off. Ronald was able to pick up that this Pokemon was a Minccino.<p>

Ronald got back up, just to be knocked back down again by three bird Pokemon. They appeared to be Staravia. Ronald suddenly realized that the Staravia were chasing the Minccino. Ronald took off after them, on unsteady legs.

"Get back here, little treat." said one of the Staravia. Another one said, "We just wanna have a little chat." Ronald was shellshocked. "The Pokemon can talk?!" Then he shook his head. "Of course they can talk, idiot. If I'm a Pokemon, it only makes sense that I'd be able to understand other Pokemon." He tried to keep up with them.

The Minccino then accidentally tripped up on a root and fell on its face. Before it knew it, it was surrounded by the Staravia. The Staravia gang then proceeded to start beating it up.

"Hey!" Ronald called out. The Staravia looked at him with an evil look in their eyes. "Back off!"

One of the Staravia stepped forward. "This isn't any of your business, pal. I would suggest you move along, before you get yourself hurt."

"No." Ronald glared at the Staravia with anger. "I can't just walk away from something like this. You're just a big bully." Suddenly, the Staravia thrust it's wing into Ronald's chest, and then kicked him into the air before it slammed Ronald into the ground. "I warned you." the Staravia gleamed over him.

The other two Staravia got excited and rushed over to join the fun. The three of them beat on Ronald, while Minccino watched in horror.

Ronald was barely holding on, and he roared, "That's enough!" And he turned one of his hooves on a Staravia, and a high-powered water jet came streaming out, knocking the Staravia into a nearby tree.

Ronald looked at his hoof with wonder. 'Did I just do that?' he thought to himself. The other two Staravia stopped and rushed over to either side of their friend. "Are you OK?" asked one of them. The injured one got up and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." He got up and confronted Ronald. "You just made a big mistake. We were gonna let you off easy, but now, we aren't going to be holding back."

'But at least I'm not defenseless.' Ronald thought to himself as he got up. Then, both Ronald and the Staravia gang, stared at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.

* * *

><p>Oooh! Big fight! I'll get the popcorn. You should get some too. And while you're at it, stay tuned to see the outcome of this battle!<p> 


	4. A Good Fight Fought & A Bond Forged

Hello everyone! Hope you've got your popcorn ready, because this is going to be one epic fight! Ready? Let's go!

* * *

><p>It was three against one. Ronald knew he had a disadvantage in numbers. But he knew that he had to fight, to protect the little Minccino. The three Staravia were all grouped together, facing Ronald. They were edging around each other, trying to find an opportunity to attack.<p>

Suddenly, the threesome flashed forward. Ronald barely had enough time to dodge to the left. The Staravia flew off in separate directions and tried to surround Ronald.

Ronald was pondering how he shot off that water jet, so he lifted up his left foreleg and thought, 'Shoot!' Just like magic, a stream of water came out of his hoof, just like before. The Staravia he was aiming for easily dodged his attack. "Curses." he muttered under his breath.

One of the Staravia suddenly swooped in from behind and struck Ronald. He cringed in pain, but he managed to do the equivalent of a handstand and used both of his hind legs and shot his powerful streams and sent it flying off. (Not on its own accord, mind.) The other two saw this as an opportunity and tried to get him from the front.

But Ronald was ready for them, he quickly shifted from his forelegs to his hind legs, and then he stomped on the other two Staravia with his forelegs. Now, since they were pinned, he shot out of his forelegs, hitting the two Staravia with critical damage.

He backed off, figuring that he had done them in, when he saw that they were, incredibly, getting back up. One of the Staravia slowly said. "Our boss, urk, would never give up. We won't either." Then, they took off and went high into the air. He knew better than to think that they were giving up, but he couldn't see them anywhere.

Then, heard them simultaneously shout, "Aerial Ace!" He suddenly found himself being attacked from three sides, and this time, he couldn't dodge in time. He felt immense pain as the three attacks landed. He didn't know why, but these attacks hurt more than the strengths of the Staravia, but he couldn't tell what. He knew he was some sort of Water type, but could have two types. Maybe he's also a Fighting type. That would explain why he's taking so much damage. He knelt down in pain, for it was really hard for him to stand.

One of the Staravia guffawed. "That's it, boys! One more hit, and we've got him!" The other two snickered at the prospect of payback. Then, they all simultaneously twisted in the air and cried, "Brave Bird!"

This snapped Ronald back into reality. He got up just as the flames surrounding them changed from red to blue. He thought about his options, then he got a brilliant idea. He fired all four of his water jets into the ground. They propelled him up, like a jet pack, just in time to get him out of the way as the three Staravia collided.

A huge explosion occurred. The power of the Brave Bird combination, plus the recoil that was dealt afterwards, instantly knocked out the three Staravia.

Ronald slowly lowered himself to the ground, before collapsing himself out of exhaustion.

Ronald was near unconsciousness, when an Oran Berry was put in front of him. He looked up an saw that it was the Minccino. He craned his neck over and started to eat the berry. He suddenly understood why his Pokemon always felt better after eating one of these, it tasted great!

He finished off the berry and got up. The Staravia were very hurt, but they were trying to get up as well.

"Come on. We can't let our boss down. We can keep fighting." The Staravia took a step forward and then fell flat on his face. Another Staravia rushed to its side. "We can't fight for our boss if we're dead. Come on. Let's go back." The two Staravia got on either side of the first and lifted it up under its wings. One of them turned back and said. "Don't think we'll forget this. We'll be back." And then, they walked off into the forest.

The Minccino walked up to Ronald. "Thank you for saving me. You have no idea what it means to me." Ronald smiled back. "I just wanted to help." Then he collapsed again, cringing in pain.

Minccino rushed over to Ronald's side. "Oh, no. You're hurt. Let's go back to my village. Your wounds can be treated there. It's not that far off." Ronald was hurting to much to talk, so he only nodded. "Can you stand?" Minccino asked him. He nodded again. He knew he needed medical attention. He got up, and the pain was searing.

Ronald began to stumble along with Minccino, occasionally resting along the way, as they made their way to Minccino's village.

* * *

><p>Well, it doesn't look too good for Ronald. Those Staravia hurt him bad. What's going to happen next? Will he make it to the village in time? Why does a Minccino even live in a village? Stay tuned to find out!<p> 


	5. A Life Saved & A Friendship Made

Welcome back! When we left, Ronald was hurt severely in a fight to protect a Minccino. That Minccino is now taking him to her village. Let's see what happens next, shall we?

* * *

><p>It was about midday when they arrived in Minccino's village. It was a very rustic place, with little houses made of stone with straw roofs. If Ronald didn't know any better, he would've thought this was a human village.<p>

But that's not the case. There were no signs of humans anywhere, only Pokemon. They were going about their daily lives. A Mr. Mime was sweeping up in front of a little shop, and a Kangaskhan was playing with her little baby.

Many of the Pokemon stopped to stare at Ronald, their eyes full of concern and wonder. He heard them whispering things to one another as he hobbled along. "Do you think that's him?" "I've never seen a Pokemon like that before." "The poor dear. He looks hurt."

Minccino pulled at him. "Don't mind them." she tried to assure him, "They always act this way when a new Pokemon comes into town." She guided him into a slightly larger building with a cross on it. "Here it is. The hospital. Doctor Blissey will take good care of you." They walked together inside.

The inside of the building was kind of what Ronald had expected. The walls were made of stone with a straw ceiling overhead. However, this building also had a little counter near the entrance, as well as individual rooms along the back. There were about five rooms, each with paper walls. Minccino walked up to the counter and rung a little bell. A Chansey soon ran up to the counter.

"Hello." She said, out of breath. "How may I be of help today?" This Chansey almost reminded Ronald of the Chansey that accompanied Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Centers, and then he remembered that it was at a Pokemon Center that he died and came back to life as a Pokemon.

"My friend has been through a lot. He fought off three strong Staravia in order to protect me. Please, help him." Chansey came over and looked Ronald over. "Oh, my! You _have_ been through a lot. Audino, I need a stretcher." A couple of Audino came out carrying a stretcher. They laid Ronald on top of it and carried him into the first room. "Will he be alright, Ms. Chansey?" Nurse Chansey did her best to try to calm down Minccino. "Don't worry. Doctor Blissey is a fantastic doctor. He should have your friend feeling all better in a little while. I need you wait a bit. Are you okay with that?" Minccino nodded. Then Chansey went into the room with Ronald while Minccino sat down and waited.

A few hours later, Doctor Blissey came out. He called over Minccino. "How is he, Mrs. Blissey?" Doctor Blissey smiled. "He'll be fine. He just needs to rest for a while." Minccino could barely believe her ears. She was so happy. "Thank you so much! May I go see him?"

"Why bother?" Nurse Chansey replied. "He's right here." Ronald walked out of the room. He was covered in bandages, but otherwise, he looked okay.

"Mister!" Minccino jumped on him. Ronald tumbled to the floor. "Ow." Ronald whimpered. Minccino got off. "I'm happy to see you, too. But, I need to rest, like the doctor said." Minccino apologized. Ronald thanked the medics once again and went with Minccino out the door.

"So, what do we do now, um, what's your name?" Minccino looked up. "My name? It's Peach." Ronald was a little surprised. "Why are you named Peach?"

"Because both my dad and my mom love them. That's how they met, trying to find peaches. They were on the same peach tree one day, but there was only one peach left. Boy, did my parents fight. My mom was victorious, but in the end, they both shared the peach. When I was born, they said that I reminded them of that peach, and that's why they named me Peach! So, what's your name?"

"Um, my name's Ronald." Peach looked even more shocked. "That sounds like a human name. It's weird. By the way, can you tell me what sort of Pokemon you are?" Ronald was a bit anxious. "Well, I don't really know." Peach was really shocked. "You don't know? Why not?" Ronald sighed. "I don't really know. I just woke up this morning and found myself this way."

Peach stood there and thought for a moment. Then, she got an idea. "The elder. If anyone knows what you are, he knows. Come on! I'll show you to his house!" Peach ran off, before realizing that Ronald can't really run fast. So, first she backtracked, and then she led him to the elder's house.

* * *

><p>Well, that was fun. But, there are all sorts of questions to be answered. Like, who's the elder? What does he know about Ronald? And where's that waiter with my mocha cappuccino. (Oops, scratch that last one.) You can find out the answers to this, and more, next time. So, stay tuned.<p> 


	6. A Counsel Seeked & A Prophecy Revealed

Hello there! I finished my cappuccino and I'm ready to show you the next series of events. When we left, Ronald and Peach (Ooh, now I want peach cobbler.) were heading to the house of the village elder to learn about Ronald. You guys ready? Here we go!

"There it is, Ronald." Peach and Ronald were standing in front of the elder's house. The house basically looked the same as the other houses, but this one looked older. The stone wall looked worn and the straw roof looked pale. Peach went up to the door and knocked.

An Alakazam answered the door. He looked ancient. His fur was tinted with grey and his moustache almost reached down to his feet. "Peach? Is that you?" Alakazam bent down to look at her better. "My, you've grown! I remember when you were just a baby Pokemon. You were so cute. And, you still are."

He definately struck Ronald as a nice guy. "Mr. Alakazam, me and my friend want to ask you something." He looked up at Ronald, and Ronald straightened up, trying to look at least somewhat decent. Alakazam grunted. "I see. Come inside. I just put some tea on to boil."

The inside of the house reeked of must. Ronald coughed as he walked in. He saw that the inside looked as old as it did outside. The walls were lined with books and scrolls, some looked older than Alakazam. A fireplace roared at the back, and a tea table was set in the middle of the house. There was a teapot cooking on a stove towards the left of the fireplace.

Alakazam gestured to the tea table. "Come, sit. Make yourselves at home." Ronald and Peach made their way over to the table. They all sat down. "So, you wanted to ask me a question, correct?"

Ronald and Peach nodded to each other. "Well, you see sir," Ronald said, "My name is Ronald, and I don't know what I am." He could see the confusion in Alakazam's face. "Whatever do you mean?" Ronald breathed deeply. He told the both of them his story, of how he used to be a human, and how he died and came back as a Pokemon. He also told Alakazam about how he saved Peach from the Staravia gang. Peach added. "He saved me, even though he didn't know me. I want the best for him, so please Mr. Alakazam, can you help him?"

Alakazam sat there in deep thought. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the teapot whistling. Alakazam went and began pouring the tea. Once he was done, he sat down and took a small sip from his cup. He set it down. and began to speak.

"Ronald, if what you say is true, then you've been given a divine gift. Only the power of the most powerful Pokemon in the universe, Arceus, could have brought you back to life.

"As to what you are, it seems that Arceus has given you the form of a Pokemon that has only been rumoured about in legends, a Keldeo." Ronald stood there, in shock. "I'm...a Legendary Pokemon?!" Alakazam nodded.

"Keldeo, according to the legends, was a member of the legendary Swords of Justice, an elite team of Pokemon dedicated to protecting the weak. You said you were trying to protect Peach when you fought those Staravia, correct?" Ronald nodded. "Then, how were you able to master your new body so fast as to defeat three strong Pokemon? The only explanation," He took a sip of his tea. "is that you're the Chosen One."

Ronald was completely stumped. "The Chosen One? For what?" Alakazam turned and used Psychic to bring down a scroll from one of his shelves. As soon as the scroll landed on the table, it opened up to show large picture of a Pokemon, with strange lettering at the bottom. Alakazam looked over it and began to recite the written words.

_"When human and Pokemon,_  
><em>Come together as one,<em>  
><em>Then begins the time,<em>  
><em>When the moon swallows the sun.<em>

_And when Chosen One,_  
><em>Is placed on the altar here,<em>  
><em>Then the holy one, Arceus,<em>  
><em>Will soon reappear."<em>

Alakazam looked at Ronald. Ronald was repeating it to himself. "'When human and Pokemon come together as one.' Does that mean me?" Alakazam nodded. "You are the Chosen One, my boy. Do you know who Arceus is?" Ronald remembered a book he read at the Canalave Library. He recited. "Arceus is the God of all Pokemon. He was said to have been the first being in existence. If someone could bring him back here..."

"...then they could harness the power of a god." Alakazam finished for Ronald. "You are in grave danger, my boy. When people find out you exist, they will hunt you down and try to use you to summon Arceus." He looked at the setting sun. "It's getting late. You should probably stay here for the night." He turned to him and smiled. "It's funny. You arrived on the 25th anniversary of the founding of this village."

Peach looked up at Ronald excitedly. "Yeah, we're going to have a festival and everything! You can join us!" Ronald looked into Peach's eyes. It definitely wanted him to be there. "Okay, okay. I'll be there." Ronald and Peach went out and soon joined the festivities.

They had a wonderful time, and they spent most of the night enjoying the festival. Ronald even met Peach's parents. Her mother and father (Peach's father was a Pikachu, while her mother was a Cinccino) thought Ronald was wonderful, and invited him to stay at their house for the night. He turned in a little later, thinking about what might come about in the morning.

And so ends Day 1. What's going to happen on the next day? Stay tuned to find out. Meanwhile, I'm going to attend the party, and, um, I'll tell you how it goes. Alright, bye! *puts on Mardi Gras outfit and runs off*


	7. A Promise Made & Supplies Prepared

*snores* ...Guh, huh? Oh, you're back! Sorry, I partied hard last night. Man, I slept like a log after that. Anyway, so we should continue with the events of the story. Let's go!

* * *

><p>In the morning, Ronald woke up laying next to Peach in her house. He rose carefully, as to not disturb the sleeping Minccino, and walked into the main room (which served as both the kitchen and the living room) and there he saw Peach's mother working on breakfast.<p>

"Oh, you're awake." She gave him a very warm smile. "Well, as they say, the early Pidgey gets the Caterpie. Come, you can sit here and wait. Everyone else will be up soon." Ronald set himself down next to the table. It was significantly larger than Alakazam's tiny tea table, but then again, there were more mouths to feed.

Peach's mother was cutting up some fruit with a knife. She stopped suddenly and turned to Ronald. "I just wanted to thank you for saving my daughter. Alakazam told me what you did."

Ronald smiled back. "It was no trouble. She was in danger, and I just wanted to help." Ronald sat there and thought about what he did, and suddenly remembered that the Staravia kept mentioning that they had a 'boss'. He wondered who it could possibly be.

"So, um, Mrs. Cinccino, do you know who those Staravia were?" Suddenly, the knife came down hard, creating a large cut in the countertop. Ronald thought he might have struck a nerve. "Oh, I'm sorry if I-"

"No. You don't have to apologize. My knife just slipped. Please, give me a minute to finish here." Ronald let her finish cutting the fruit. She put it all in a bowl and stirred it together with some spices. Then she set the bowl down on the table and sat down. Then, she looked straight at Ronald with the most serious look that Ronald had ever seen.

"Those Staravia were members of a large clan of Pokemon that live in this area known as the Flying Aces. They constantly bully the other Pokemon and are extremely selfish. Nobody knows who the leader of the Flying Aces is. Anyone who blabs is usually disappears, if you know what I mean."

Ronald nodded. Cinccino sighed. "Anyone could be their next target, and everybody is in danger here. That's why, I have something to ask you." Cinccino looked more serious than death, which made Ronald feel a bit nervous. "I know you're going to leave here soon, so I want you to take care of my little Peach for a while."

Ronald, needless to say, was surprised. "W-Why? How can you trust me to do it?"

"Because, I don't want something like what happened yesterday happening to my precious Peach. If you weren't there, who knows what-" Cinccino was clearly on the verge of tears. "Please, take care of Peach. I want you to promise me this."

Ronald knew that this was a very important subject, not just for Peach, but for Cinccino too. So, bravely, he came out and said, "I promise you that I will take good care of Peach for the time being."

Cinccino whispered a reply. "Thank you."

It was soon afterward that Peach and Peach's father woke up. Then, they all ate breakfast together. The way that the family came together reminded Ronald of his old life. He wondered how his mother was holding up, considering the fact that she believes him dead.

After breakfast, Ronald was requested by Cinccino to wait outside. He knew that she was going to tell Peach about their arrangement. He could hear Peach cry for a little bit, before she came out, her eyes still red from crying.

Ronald bid Peach's family farewell and with Peach right behind him, began to make his way to Elder Alakazam's hut.

Before they got there, however, Ronald heard someone calling him over. It was the Kangaskhan which he remembered seeing the previous day. He asked Peach to wait there and he walked over.

Kangaskhan was standing behind a door, which was seemed to be cut in half horizontally, to allow small and big Pokemon to enter. She had the top half open.

"So, I heard that you were heading out on a little trip." Kangaskhan inquired. "Well, do you have any food prepared to eat while you're out?"

Ronald stood there, feeling a little absent-minded. "Whoops. I guess I forgot about that."

Kangaskhan gave him a big warm smile. "You can't really go on an adventure if you go on an empty stomach. Here, Cinccino asked me to prepare this for you." She picked up a picnic basket from a small table right next to the door. The aroma emanating from it was mouth-watering.

"Thank you very much!" Ronald exclaimed. Kangaskhan pulled out a sort of strap and looped the handle of the basket through it. She then placed the strap with the basket over Ronald's head. When he looked at it, he humorously thought to himself, "It looks like I have a side-saddle, now."

Kangaskhan made a couple of adjustments, and then looking at her work, she concluded, "Yep! Snug as a Wurmple. You're good to go!"

After showing his gratitude to Kangaskhan again, he walked back over to Peach. She could smell the food as well. "Wow! That smells amazing. I was wondering what we were going to eat. Kangaskhan is probably the best cook in the entire region!"

Ronald laughed. "I couldn't help but agree. This food smells divine! So, shall we shove off?"

Minccino nodded, and the two of them walked over to Elder Alakazam's hut.

* * *

><p>Well, I guess that's a wrap for this chapter. See you next time. Meanwhile, I think I'll have a quick bite to eat over at Kangaskhan's. So, for now, chow! Um, I mean, ciao!<p> 


	8. Directions Given & A Deeper Plot Unfolds

*burp* Ah, that was a delicious meal. Now then, on with the story.

* * *

><p>Ronald and Peach finally arrived at Elder Alakazam's hut, where he was there waiting for them outside with a friendly smile.<p>

"So, I suppose that means you're prepared?" Alakazam ventured.

Ronald nodded. "Yes, we're ready to go."

Alakazam was mystified. "'We?' Who's we?"

Peach popped out and Alakazam was startled. "No. Out of the question. She can't be put in danger like this."

Ronald explained what Cinccino had told him. Alakazam listened, and when Ronald finished, he sighed. "If what you say is true, then I guess I have no choice. But, do you know where you're going?"

"Well, that's why we came to you. We were hoping you could point us in the right way." Ronald was clearly clueless.

Alakazam sighed and told them to wait there. He went into his hut for a minute and returned holding a scroll. "This is a map to a place known as Ironside Mountain. That will be a good place to start."

Ronald thanked Alakazam and he wished the two his best. Ronald, with Peach riding on top of him like a pony, went off into the woods.

Meanwhile, there was a group of people gathered in a place that would be best described as an amphitheater. There were people in similar outfits all gathered in this place. It was a bit like sitting at a football stadium, except there was a ceiling overhead.

Suddenly, a light came on down at the center of the giant room. A sudden hush came across the crowd. A man walked up on the stage towards a microphone propped there. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"My friends, the time of reckoning is now." This earned some murmurs among the crowd which settled down quickly. "We bided our time, building ourselves from the ashes of fallen teams from times past. Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma and Flare. All of them failed in their ambitions. But we shall succeed." The crowd started to become excited.

The man continued. "Our time of waiting is over. Just yesterday, our scientists managed to locate Target Zero." The crowd was getting very excited. "We have sent out a team to capture Target Zero as we speak. Soon, we shall have the key to unlock the heavenly gates and we will have the power to destroy this world and recreate it in our own image."

The crowd was roaring. The man pumped his fist in the air and shouted. "For the glory of Team Cosmos!" The crowd repeated it eagerly.

* * *

><p>Uh, oh. This is not looking good. What in the world is Team Cosmos? What's Target Zero? And what did Kangaskhan pack in Ronald and Peach's lunch? Find out all that and more, next time.<p> 


	9. A Sudden Hunger & A Clever Trap

Welcome back! So, shall we continue? Excellent! Let's go!

* * *

><p>Ronald was walking through the woods, with Peach laying on his back. She was staring up at the sunlight beaming down from the tree tops.<p>

Suddenly, a loud growl was heard by the both of them. Ronald looked around, anticipating some angry Pokemon to come out of the bush. He heard the growl again and it sounded a lot closer. He looked around until he realized that the growling came from right on top of him. "Peach, are you hungry?"

Peach perked up. "No. Of course not!" Then the growling came again, louder than before. Peach sighed. "Yeah, I'm starving."

Ronald laughed loudly. "Okay, I guess we can stop for a bit. It's nearly lunchtime anyway."

Peach jumped up and down. "Alright! I'll go ahead to find a good spot to camp!" And like that, she took off in front of Ronald. Ronald chuckled to himself and continued walking at the steady pace he was going before.

He began to think about his mother, his best friend Damon and especially his Pokemon. He wondered where they were now, and whether or not they still thought about him.

"Hey, Ronald! I found a good spot over here!" Peach yelled behind some bushes. "Come, look!"

Ronald trotted over to where he heard Peach's voice coming from. It was a beautiful spot, with sunlight coming down, and a little stream running along by the side. "So, what do you think?" Peach asked, hanging from one of the branches in a nearby tree.

Ronald looked up at her. "It's perfect. But, um, should you be hanging there? It doesn't look safe."

Peach rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. What are you, my mother? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Suddenly, just as she said that, she slipped and fell out of the tree, screaming. Ronald ran over and caught her before she hit the ground. He looked back on her. "You were saying?"

Peach gave up a helpless sigh. "Alright, alright. I'll be more careful. Can we eat now?"

"Don't you change the-" Ronald was interrupted by growling from his own stomach. They both laughed. "Okay, I'm pretty hungry myself. Let's go have lunch."

Peach cheered and ran about as Ronald got the food set up. If he still had hands, it would've been a cinch getting it set up. However, he still was able to do it well enough with only his teeth. Once he got all of the food set up, he called out, "Food's ready!"

Ronald waited there for a few minutes, waiting for Peach. He called out again. "Peach. I set up the food. I'm gonna eat it all by myself." Nothing. "Peach, are you trying something, because I'm not falling for it." Suddenly, he heard a cry. "Help me!"

Ronald didn't wait. He charged off to find Peach. He suddenly found her, gagged and bounded to a tree. "Don't worry, Peach. I'll get you down."

Ronald took a step forward and she shook her head violently. "What? What is it? Is it a trap?" She nodded strenuously. Ronald inspected the ground in front of him and, sure enough, he saw a net cloaked by leaves. One more step and he would've been trapped.

"Good call, Peach." Ronald edged around the net and hurried up to Peach. "Don't worry. I'll get you down." She emitted a muffled scream. He turned around and ducked just in time to avoid being trapped in another net, this time being shot at him.

Ronald growled. "Who's there?!" Suddenly, two people came out of the grass. They were dressed in weird golden outfits with a large letter letter C in silver.

"Aw." The man on the left said. "He didn't fall for any of our traps." He looked at the man beside him. "What shall we do about this?"

The other man grunted. "Now, we capture him the old-fashioned way" The man then pulled out a Pokeball.

The first man grinned. "Nice. I like the old-fashioned way." This man also pulled out a Pokeball. Then, simultaneously, they threw their Pokeballs out and two Pokemon appeared. One was a Crobat, and the other was a Sneasel.

Ronald growled as he prepared to face off against his opponents.

* * *

><p>What's going to happen now? Who will win this battle? Find out next time! See you then!<p> 


	10. A Tough Battle & A Last Minute Save

Hey everyone! So, when we last left Ronald, he was about to fight some bad guys. I can't wait to see what happens next. And I bet you can't either. So, let's go!

* * *

><p>The Pokemon were edging around each other. They were looking for an opening to launch an attack. Ronald was thinking about possible strategies to fight his opponents.<p>

'Okay, so it's a Sneasel and a Crobat that I'm fighting.' Ronald thought to himself. 'I can fend off the Sneasel pretty easily, since I'm super effective against it. The Crobat might prove troublesome, not only because I'm weak to it, but also because it has the aerial advantage. I'm outnumbered right now, but then again, I was outnumbered when I fought those Staravia. I hope I know what I'm doing.'

Suddenly, the Sneasel made the first move, launching itself at Ronald. Ronald quickly dodged it, only to find himself facing against the Crobat who launches a series of Air Slashes. Ronald gets hit and is sent flying into a tree. "Curses." He muttered under his breath. "They distracted me."

The Sneasel suddenly came upon him like a flash and started to use its Fury Swipes attack on him. Ronald was trying to hold his ground, but Sneasel was making it very difficult. He finally managed to position one of his hooves towards the Sneasel and he blasted it with his Hydro Pump. He sent the Sneasel flying, before it came back to earth and tumbled on the ground. It picked itself up, with a look of death in its eyes, and proceeded to attack Ronald again with an Ice Shard.

Ronald smoothly dodged the attack, before rushing up to it to attack again. But, he was held off by the Crobat, who was launching wave after wave of Air Slashes. Ronald grunted. 'If I'm going to be successful here, I have to take that Crobat down.'

Ronald looked around and devised a course of action. He would leap off of the surrounding trees, and try to get above the Flying type. Once he did that, he can take it down.

Ronald started to run wildly, being pursued closely by his enemies. He stopped and did a back kick with his water jets. The Crobat flew up, while the Sneasel rolled to the side. Ronald took advantage of the distraction and leaped onto the trees, as he had planned.

At the highest point of the trees, he leaped off towards Crobat. Suddenly, he was right over the Flying Pokemon. The Crobat tried to fly away, but before it could move, Ronald shot his water jets at it, causing it to plummet to the ground.

The Crobat tried to get up, but Ronald came crashing down. "Stomp!" He cried. He crushed the Crobat under him with his hooves and knocked it out cold.

Crobat's Trainer was astonished at the sudden defeat. "Darn it!" He yelled. "You'll pay for that!" Suddenly, he pulled out a gun. Wait, no, it's just a flare gun. He pointed it straight up and pulled the trigger, causing the flare to fire out and cause an explosion overhead.

Just then, out of nowhere, Ronald was attacked from behind by an unknown Pokemon. It had shot a web at him, which tangled him up, while giving him an electric shock. "Electro Web." Ronald stammered. "But how? Who?" He kept questioning himself as he fell to the ground, cringing in pain.

He was able to turn his head enough to see the perpetrator. It was a Galvantula, accompanied by a female Trainer who was in a similar uniform to the others. "Leave it to you two to make a simple task into a complicated quest." She said. Her voice was cold and unfeeling, as if any sympathy she might have had is now gone.

"Hey, don't blame me. He was the one who set the traps." Crobat's Trainer said, pointing at Sneasel's Trainer.

"Where are you going off on this?!" Sneasel's Trainer bit back. "You were the one who suggested we battle it."

"Well, if your traps had worked, we wouldn't be here having to battle it!"

"Well, if your Crobat was actually any strong, we would've had him by now."

"Well, if you had-"

"That's enough! From both of you!" The woman ordered. The two men grumbled but stopped arguing. "The point is, we have our target. Now, let's move!" She threw out a Pokeball. Inside was a Kirlia, who seemed to reflect the feelings of its Trainer. "Kirlia, use Psychic."

The Kirlia approached Ronald. Her eyes began to glow, and Ronald was lifted off the ground. Ronald was trying to escape, with little success. 'I have to get away. I need to rescue Peach! What am I supposed to do?!' Ronald was extremely torn up inside between accepting his fate and trying to escape.

Suddenly, a blast hit Kirlia in the back. It surprised everyone there as Kirlia fell to the ground injured. Ronald fell as well, grunting as he landed.

One second later, a cloaked figure appeared in the middle of the group, right next to Ronald. The Pokemon immediately ran up to attack, but the cloaked figure jumped away. It suddenly pulled out one of the biggest bones Ronald had ever seen. "Wait." Ronald mumbled. "That's Bone Rush. Is that a Pokemon?"

The Pokemon started to blast at the cloaked figure, Galvantula shot off some Electro Webs, while Sneasel fired Ice Shards. But the figure smoothly dodged all of the attacks and smacked both of the Pokemon with it's club, sending them flying.

"Grah. It's too strong! Retreat!" Crobat's Trainer exclaimed. The two men proceeded immediately out of there. The woman showed some disappointment, before she ran off as well.

"Ronald! Are you okay?" Peach cried out from the tree where she was bound.

The figure kneeled next to Ronald. Peach was worried that it was going to hurt him. But instead, it proceeded to remove the webbing. Very soon, Ronald was free. He stood up, wobbling a bit. "Th- Thank you." Ronald managed, before he fell back down on his knees.

The figure began to comfort him. "It's okay, Ronald. Don't get up. You need your rest."

Ronald looked up to him in shock. "How- How do you know my name?"

The figure then removed his hood, revealing his red eyes, as well as his blue and black fur. "Hello, master." The Lucario answered.

* * *

><p>Wait, what? What's up with that? Who is this Lucario? How does he know Ronald? And who were those people who attacked Ronald in the first place? Only one way to find out; stay tuned!<p> 


	11. A Friendship Reforged & A Looming Threat

Hello everyone! When we last left Ronald, he had just been saved from being captured by a Lucario. But who is he? Well, it does you no good sitting around here reading my intro, does it? Back to the story!

* * *

><p>Ronald looked up in shock at the Lucario. "Did- Did you just call me master?"<p>

The Lucario smiled. "What else do you expect me to call you? You were the one who trained me, you know."

Ronald gasped. "Omega? Is that you?"The Lucario nodded. "Omega! I can't believe it's you!" Ronald jumped at Omega and knocked him to the ground. They began to roll around with each other in sheer happiness.

Peach suddenly piped up. "Hello? I know you two must really be happy to see each other, but can I come down now?" Ronald looked at her. He had completely forgotten about her.

"Whoops! Er, sorry Peach! Um, Omega, do you mind?" Ronald was embarrassed about forgetting Peach. Omega shrugged and walked over to Peach and used the spike in its paw to cut the ropes. After a little while, she was finally free.

"So, what's the story between you two?" Peach asked. "How did you come to know each other?"

Ronald smiled at Omega and he smiled back. "You see Peach, before I died, I was a Pokemon Trainer. Omega was actually one of my Pokemon. But," Ronald turned to Omega. "how did you know it was me? I mean, after all, I'm not the same as I was before."

Omega blinked. He started to laugh. "Have you forgotten, my friend?" Ronald cocked his head in confusion, causing Omega to laugh even more. "Don't you remember? I can see your aura. No matter how much you change on the outside, you'll always have the same aura."

"Ah! Of course! I didn't think of that. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Omega!" Ronald started to laugh himself. Peach joined in because she thought that Ronald's laugh was very contagious. The three of them were just standing there, laughing, little knowing what was up ahead.

* * *

><p>There were many screens lining the walls of the room. There were no other lights, so the room was only being lit up by the many screens, causing an eerie glow throughout the entire room. The sounds of ruffling papers, as well as the various click-clacking of the keyboards were all that was heard there. Above the various noises and sounds, a man sat there, watching over them all.<p>

Suddenly, the screen lit up in front of him, telling him that a call was coming through. 'It must be the team that was sent to capture Target Zero.' He thought to himself. He pushed a flashing button in front of him and, sure enough, it was the head of the team that he had sent.

"So, I take it you were successful?" He spoke with a cool tone, trying to hide his eagerness.

The leader took a long time to respond. "I'm sorry, Lord Constantine. The retrieval process was a failure. Something attacked us and we were forced to retreat."

Constantine took a long time to respond. "I see. Perhaps it was too much for a couple of grunts to handle." Hiding behind his cool tone was a boiling sense of disappointment and anger.

"We will try again. This time, we'll catch him for sure." The leader tried to be as reassuring as possible.

Constantine grunted. "No. You will not attempt again. Return to base. I will just have to send someone else for the job. Someone...more suited to this kind of work."

"But, sir-"

"That is an order. Do not double guess my judgement again! Do you understand?"

The leader sighed. "Yes, Lord Constantine. We will return at once."

The screen went blank as fast as it had come on. Constantine called two of his lower grunts to him. They marched up and stood at attention. "Fetch me both Commander G and Trainer X, at once!"

They both saluted him. "Yes, sir!"

They walked down the hall. One of them said to the other, "So, who are these guys?"

The other man regarded him queerly. "Are you new around here?"

He nodded. "Just started last week."

"Ah. No wonder you don't know them. Well, as you know, Team Cosmos was created out of the remnants of previous teams. But you already know that, don't you?"

"Yeah. I used to be a member of Team Rocket."

"Well, each one of the higher grunts, or Commanders, used to be big-shots at their old Teams. Commander G, for instance, was one of the most skilled members of Team Galactic, before it fell apart, of course."

The first man nodded. "But, which team does Trainer X come from."

The second man thought to himself. "No one is really sure."

"Huh?" The first grunt was really confused. "But, wasn't he a member of one of those other teams?"

"That's the thing." The second grunt mused to himself. "Nobody really knows where he came from, or even who he really is."

The first man looked puzzled. "They don't know who he is?"

"Well, you see, he has this mask that covers his entire face. All of the Commanders have masks, naturally, to hide their proper identities. But, not even Lord Constantine has seen his face. I've heard strange rumors about him, like how he could be actually one of the leaders of the old groups, like Giovanni of Rocket or Cyrus of Galactic. It's even been rumors that he is actually a _she!_"

"Wow!" The man stared off in wonder. "One last question. Just how good is this guy? This, Trainer X?"

He gave him a grave look. "He's second in command of the entirety of Team Cosmos, only lower to Lord Constantine himself!"

The two men finally arrived at the Commander's quarters. They activated the intercom system to the inside. "Excuse me, but Lord Constantine wants to see Trainer X and Commander G immediately."

They stood around the intercom for a minute with no response. He activated it again. "Hello?"

Suddenly, the door swung open, startling the two men. Two people walked out, one with a partial mask just covering the upper part of the face, and one with a mask covering the entire head.

The one with the partial mask spoke. "You say Lord Constantine needs us? You only needed to say so." From the tone and the way this person spoke, it was obvious it was a woman.

The second person never spoke. They began to walk away.

"Well, that was rude. They didn't even thank us." The first man spoke.

The other man shrugged his shoulders. "Well, that's the life of a grunt for you. Come on! We've got kitchen duty today."

The first grunt groaned in annoyance as they made their way to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Well, this is starting to not look good. Who were those two people? And why did Constantine need their help that badly? Is Ronald really that important? Well, there's only one way to find out where this goes. Stay tuned!<p> 


	12. A Search Begins & A Lunch Is Eaten

Hello everyone! I'd just like to put up a note to any Pokemon purists out there. I want to apologize for the misuse of the move "Stomp" in Chapter 10. It turns out, Keldeo cannot actually learn the move Stomp, even though its Pokedex info says that it's a master at leg attacks. So, um, just imagine that this was taking place in Gen I, where Stomp was a TM, and we should be good. Um, I think. Now that that's out of the way, let's get back to the story!

* * *

><p>The door to the room where Constantine was opened. Constantine stood up and was greeted by Trainer X and Commander G. They saluted him. "Lord Constantine," Commander G spoke up, "we have come as you requested."<p>

Constantine nodded in response. The two of them entered the room and closed the door. "Tell me." Constantine picked up a paperweight off of his desk and started to throw it up and down in the air."Are you aware of the significance of Target Zero to us?"

Commander G nodded. "Yessir."

"Good." Constantine set the paperweight down on the desk with a thump. "Are you also aware that just a little bit earlier, a dispatch team was sent to capture Target Zero?"

Commander G was started to feel a little worried. "Um, yes, sir. But, what does this have to do with anything?"

Constantine looked at the both of them with an extremely grave look. "The dispatch team failed."

"What? But how could they?" Commander G truly was shocked.

"It appears as if Arceus had given our target a better form then we expected. A Keldeo, technically. Plus, he had help. This spells trouble for us."

Commander G stood up. "Sir. Do you want us to retrieve him?"

Constantine smiled. "That's exactly right. I like your intuition, G. That's why I chose you above the others."

Commander G wanted to roll her eyes, but she just nodded and said, "We will leave at once."

And just like that, she left. Just as Trainer X was about to leave, Constantine stopped him. "I do not expect failure from you. I believe you will come through for me." Trainer X slowly nodded to this and left.

Constantine returned to his chair, and he prepared himself for his assured victory.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Ronald and friends sat down for a nice lunch. Unfortunately, Kangaskhan had packed 3 lunches for 2 Pokemon. Now, they had to make it 2 lunches for 3 Pokemon.<p>

"Wow. This is incredibly good!" Ronald commented, bending down to take another bite of his sandwich. "But, uh, did she know that I wouldn't be able to hold my sandwich?"

Peach giggled at this. "She's absent-minded like that sometimes. But, you have to admit, this is really yummy. What do you think, Omega?"

Omega nodded. "Yes, this is good. But, its not the best thing I have ever eaten. That prize would go to Ronald and his wonderful Poffins."

"What?" Ronald was surprised. "Really? Oh, come on. They couldn't have been that good."

"I'm serious. The others would definitely all agree with me hands-down!" Ronald was blushing at this.

"Um, excuse me?" Peach piped up. "But, what are Poffins?"

Ronald smiled. "They're like little cakes made out of berries. I used to make them for my Pokemon all of the time."

"Wow! That sounds really yummy!" Peach looked dreamily off into space. "Can you make some for me, pretty please?"

Ronald gave a sad sigh. "I'd love to, Peach. But I have a slight problem." He motioned to his front legs with discomfort. "Sorry."

"Aw." Peach looked really sad.

Ronald nuzzled her. "Don't worry. I'm certain we'll figure something out. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay." Then she looked over at Omega. He had a far-away look in his eyes. "Hey, Omega. Is something wrong?"

He looked at her. "Um, I'm not sure. There might be." He sighed. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"

"A story?" Peach asked. "Why?"

"It's just something I think you should hear. Ronald, I feel it best if you listened as well."

Ronald nodded. "Okay. I'll listen. But, what, pray tell, is your story about?"

* * *

><p>Wouldn't you like to know, audience? Hah!<p>

*booing* *hissing* *throws rotten tomatoes*

Whoa! Hey! Stop that! This is a rental!  
>*splat*<br>...Well, so much for that. Look, just stay tuned. I promise you, the next chapter is going to be Omega's story. So, for now, ciao!


	13. A Story Told & A Truth Unveiled

Hey there, everyone! It's story time! Yep, Omega's going to tell us a really good yarn today. So, lay back in your easy chair, pick up your laptop (or tablet, or whatever you're going to read this with), and enjoy!

* * *

><p>Omega took in a deep breath, and he began:<p>

"About ten years ago, there were two brothers, each born about a year apart from each other. Their parents were scientists, and thus, they followed in their footsteps. Eventually, they managed to get jobs at Devon Co. in the Hoenn region. They were working on a project for President Stone, a device that allows humans and Pokemon to communicate to each other. However, the older brother wasn't satisfied with that, as his younger brother soon discovered.

"One night, the younger brother was working late. As he was beginning to turn in for the night, he heard sounds coming from one of the adjacent labs. Considering everyone else had left for home, he considered this suspicious and went to investigate.

"He opened the door and found his brother standing there, talking to some people whose faces were covered. When he inquired as to what they were doing, the light suddenly switched off and the younger brother was knocked unconscious with a lead pipe.

"When he woke up, he found himself bound to a table, his arms and legs pinned down. Then, his brother walked up to him. The younger brother pleaded with him to let him go, but he just started to laugh at his brother. He told him that he'd been doing business with important people, and that he'd be compensated greatly by cooperating. And since his brother now knows about their deals, he couldn't let him leave with this knowledge.

"The older brother suddenly took out a syringe and injected his teary-eyed sibling with a special serum. The younger brother then began to convulse and his body began to alter. The transformation process continued on, his face pulling out into a snout, a coat of fur flowing over him and a new tail pulled out from behind.

"However, something went wrong with the serum towards the end. As the sequence finished, he suddenly felt himself growing smaller, younger. He tried to resist it, but by then it was too late. In the end, he changed from a full-grown man, to a Pokemon Egg."

The final words hung in the air for a minute or two. Finally, Ronald piped up, "Omega, that was an entertaining story, but what does it have to do with anything?"

Omega looked at him, tears threatening in his eyes. "I guess I omitted something important. You see, the name of the older brother is Alpha, and the name of the younger brother is..."

"...Omega." Ronald said with a gasp. "But... Does that mean..."

Omega slowly nodded his head. "Yes. I am the younger brother in the story."

* * *

><p>Wow! I've seen lots of twists and turns in these sorts of stories, but this one takes the cake! What I want to know is how Ronald will react to this. I'm certain you do, too. So, stay tuned to find out!<p> 


	14. A Friend's Understanding & A Lost Friend

Hello! Well, unless you have an extremely poor memory (or you just skipped it for some unknown reason), Omega just told a story about a couple of scientist brothers, just to add the huge twist of he himself being one of them. Now, let's find out what Ronald thinks about it.

* * *

><p>Ronald sat there in silence. Omega reached over to try to comfort him. "I'm sorry, Ronald. I wish I could've told you before. It's just-"<p>

He was stopped when Ronald started laughing. "Hey," Omega was showing signs of concern. "are you okay, Ronald? Are you mad at me or something?"

Ronald shook his head. "No, it isn't that. It's just- It all makes sense now."

He seriously confused both of his friends. "Ronald, what are you talking about?" Omega asked queerly.

Ronald looked up at his friend. "The way I found you. When you were just an egg. It all makes sense."

Omega gave him a shocked look. "What are you talking about, Ronald?" Peach spoke up to him. "What do you mean you found him?"

Ronald took a deep breath in. "It was a few years ago. I took a boat to visit a little island called Iron Island. I was looking for someone, the Gym Leader of Canalave City, Byron. While I was searching, the island was suddenly attacked by an evil organization called Team Galactic. I had some run-ins with them before.

"I met a man named Riley there. He helped me eventually oust Team Galactic from the island. Before I left, he gave me an egg. He said he had found it abandoned on the island just days before. I think they wanted to get rid of you. But, all the way out into Sinnoh? I just don't get it."

Omega closed his eyes. "I don't get it, either. But, I do know one thing." Omega smiled. "I am very fortunate to have met you, Ronald. Thank you, for everything that you've done for me. I truly means it."

Ronald smiled. "You're welcome, Omega. And just know that we will always be friends, forever."

"Me too, right?" Peach piped up.

Ronald laughed. "Of course, Peach! I don't know what I'd do if you weren't around."

Peach frowned. "Are you making fun of me?"

Ronald and Omega began to laugh hard. "Hey, I'm serious!" Peach shouted. They laughed even harder.

* * *

><p>Damon lay on top of his bed. He was still in his black suit, which he had worn to the funeral of his friend, Ronald. His mom was still out with friends. He was home alone. He looked over to his dresser and picked up a picture in a frame. It showed him and his friend Ronald. They took a vacation to the Safari Zone in the Kanto region when it was taken. They were posing in front of a Tauros (it was tame). They both tried to look cool, with their backs leaning on either side of the Tauros and their arms crossed, but Ronald was the only one who actually did look cool. While Ronald had a cool smile on his face, he had a goofy grin spread all across his face. They looked like brothers, even though they weren't even related.<p>

Suddenly, a tear fell on the glass, as Damon started to sob again. "Why, Ronald?" He choked out. "Why did you do it? You had to be the hero one last time, you just had to. So, why..." He softly cried a little while.

Then, Damon got up from his bed. "Well, *sniff*, I won't let your sacrifice be in vain. You always told me to live for today. Don't worry about the past, and don't think of the future. You're here and now. Yes!" He practically leaped out of bed. "I will live! I'll live for the both of us! That's right! There's no stopping me now!"

Suddenly, Damon caught a whiff of something. "Huh? Is mom back?"

Damon ran down the stairs and found a strange red gas was coming out of the ventilation. Damon started to cough. He ran to the kitchen and tried to get the fire extinguisher, but his vision was fogging up.

Damon suddenly started to feel sick. He collapsed on the ground, which made a strange *clank* sound. Damon looked at his hands with his blurry vision and saw they were starting to warp and turn red. He then fell over and passed out.

A few minutes later, the front door was opened and people in hazmat suits walked in. They each turned on a machine they were holding and the gas was vacuumed into it. Meanwhile, a couple of other people laid out a stretcher and placed Damon onto it. They picked it up and walked out and immediately got into a van waiting for them. The van then peeled off and drove away from the house.

A man looked over Damon, who was still in the process of changing. He then pulled out a smartphone-like device and pinned in a number. It rang twice before the man picked up on the other side.

"Yes? What is it?" the man said, grumpily.

"Lord Constantine, you'll be pleased to hear that I have collected my little guinea pig and we are returning to base."

"Good. Good." Constantine sounded pleased. "We have a new test subject and we shall have Target Zero by the end of the day. Hm. Yes. You have done well, Q. Now, return to base as before and wait for further instruction."

"Yes, Lord Constantine." He hung up the phone and looked at the boy. "Indeed. You shall be important, if the need arises. You shall serve me well." He brushed his hand through what was left of his hair, and evil grin spreading across his face.

* * *

><p>Well, that's ominous. Some guy named Q just kidnapped Damon in the name of Team Cosmos. And some of Constantine's best guys are out to get Ronald. What's going to happen next? Stay tuned to find out!<p> 


	15. A Friendship Reforged & A Sudden Flight

Welcome back! So, how does everyone feel about the new Pokemon games, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire?! I'm pretty excited, myself. It was in Gen III that I began to take Pokemon seriously, and which eventually inspired me to make this story. Make sure to check it out this November! But enough advertising. It's time to get back to the story!

* * *

><p>It was later in the day. The sun had just set and the final rays were filling the clouds with light. Peach was sound asleep next to the river, while Ronald was putting everything from lunch away. Or, at least, he was trying to.<p>

"Come on! Come on! Stay together!" Ronald was mumbling to himself as he was finishing folding up the blanket. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew right threw and completely undid his work. "Oh, come on! Why couldn't I have been reborn as something with apposable thumbs?!" He yelled into the air.

He tediously began his work again, but another gust of wind came through and blew it apart again. He was about to display some very choice words, when he heard someone chortling from behind him. He looked back to see Omega leaning against a tree nearby. "So, from the looks of it, it looks like you could use a hand. Am I not correct?" Omega commented, giving a very smug smile.

Ronald gave a helpless sigh. "Yeah. More like two, really."

Omega walked over and, after a few minutes of struggling, they finally got the picnic blanket all folded up. Ronald walked over to a spot near the river (away from Peach) and sat looking at the sky. Omega came up and sat right next to him. The sun had started to set and the two of them were treated to a very beautiful scene. "It really is beautiful." Omega said, absentmindedly. "Kind of reminds me about our journeys together."

Ronald nodded. "Yeah. We had some pretty good times, didn't we?"

Omega smiled. "We sure did." Omega looked to the ground and frowned. "Ronald?"

"Yes?" Ronald responded. "What is it?"

Omega took a deep breath. "Do you forgive me for not telling you sooner? If I only knew, I would've-"

"Omega, just stop." Ronald snapped. Omega immediately stopped. "I don't want to hear you apologize. We both know you wouldn't have been able to tell me, even if you did know about your past. Look," Ronald tried to give him a reassuring smile. "I don't want to see you being so concerned about the past. What's done is done, so let the past be."

Omega looked at him, and he smiled. "Thank you, Ronald. You always know what to say to make us feel better. In fact, I remember one time when-"

"Shh." Ronald hushed him. "Did you hear that?" His voice was noticeably lower than before.

"No. What are you talking about?" Omega looked around.

"I thought I heard something. Over there." He was staring into the forest.

Omega chuckled and shook his head. "Ronald, don't worry so much. I can sense the aura of every living thing within a mile. If there was any reason to be concerned, I would've let you know."

Ronald gasped and tackled Omega to the ground. Omega grunted. "What are you doing?"

Ronald simply said "Tree." Omega looked up and saw the area on the tree where they just were was covered in tranquilizer darts. Omega started to look around. "But, if there was a threat, I should've sensed their auras."

Suddenly, the two noticed something moving out of the forest. A lot of somethings. They looked like little, silver UFOs with tiny turrets jutting out of the sides in all directions. Omega growled. "Drones. Human technology doesn't give off auras. They're smart. They adapted perfectly for me. We have to flee."

Ronald nodded. "Alright, let's go! Grab Peach." Ronald took off like a bolt. Omega jumped into a nearby tree and scooped Peach up in his arms, then he took off after Ronald.

Peach was fairly shocked at the rude awakening, but Omega explained their situation to her and Peach didn't complain much after that.

Back in the clearing, many drones started to shoot into the forest where the group disappeared. Suddenly, the air wavered and Trainer X appeared there. He looked at the stream of drones, then he jumped onto one and let it take him right to where Target Zero was going.

Ronald and Omega were running for their lives, trying to out do the flying drones. Suddenly, Peach mumbled. "Ugh, so sleepy."

Ronald looked over. "Peach, this really isn't a good time for a nap."

Omega examined her and noticed a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her tail. "Darn it." Omega muttered. "Ronald, she's been shot."

Ronald growled. "Great, just what we need. What are we supposed to do now?"

Omega came to a stop. Ronald did the same. Quickly, Omega pulled out the map. "Ronald, Iron Mountain is just a short ways away off towards the northeast. Keep going that way, and you'll make it. I'll go in a different direction and distract the drones. But, no matter what happens to me, don't stop. Just keep going."

Ronald opened his mouth to argue, but he sighed. He knew this was the only way to do it. "Okay, then. I'll do it. I'll see you soon."

Omega nodded. "Okay. Good-bye." And, without another word, the two ran from each other. Ronald ran and ran to the northeast, while Omega shot some Aura Spheres and got the attention of the drones, leading them away from Ronald.

'I wonder if he'll turn out alright.' Omega wondered. 'Oh, it doesn't matter. It won't mean much if I'm captured here. Ronald will have to fend for himself, just as we have to fend for ourselves. Still, I hope he'll okay...' A couple more tranqs shot past him and he kept up his pace.

* * *

><p>Uh, oh. Team Cosmos found them. Now, they're all split up, with no certainty of meeting again. And what's up with Trainer X? Can he turn invisible? Another problem. Well, we're not going to find out right now, unfortunately. So, stay tuned for updates!<p> 


	16. A Hero's Flight & A Close Call

Shh. Hey everyone, I just wanted to warn you to be quiet right now. See, Ronald's trying flee and hide from Team Cosmos, and he could use all the help he can get. So, being as quiet as possible, let's continue.

* * *

><p>'*pant* *pant* I have to... *pant* keep running.' Ronald thought as he ran with all his might through the forest. 'I need to... *pant* escape. I... *pant* can't let Omega's sacrifice... *pant* be in vain. *pant*'<p>

He had been running for at least a straight hour. His legs were getting wobbly under him, and already he had tripped up twice, losing valuable time. All he wanted to do was rest, but with these drones practically on his heels, he had to keep going. So, he kept running and running.

Ronald felt that his legs were about to drop out from under him, when the forest started to clear and he entered a rocky terrain. He figured that he had finally reached the mountain. He saw a cave nearby and decided he would try to get a few minutes of rest. He slunk over to it, and dropped like a rock inside. He breathing was severely labored, and it took him a good while before his breathing returned to normal.

Suddenly, he heard whirring outside. He cursed himself for taking so long, and prepared to make a break for it, when the whirring started to halt. He took a chance and looked out the entrance to the cave, and saw all of the drones beginning to malfunction as soon as they entered the mountain area. He breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as if he was safe. But then his mind began to wander towards his friends, Omega and Peach. 'I wonder if they're okay.' He wondered to himself.

Before he could assume an answer, he heard noise outside of the cave. He looked out and saw that all sorts of people were coming out and were searching the area. They all wore similar outfits to the people that had tried to capture him earlier. "Oh, no. This isn't good." he mumbled to himself. Since the drones didn't work, he only had to assume that these people came here to investigate themselves. Quietly slinking his way back into the cave, he pushed himself into a small cavern, which was just big enough for him to fit.

Ronald then heard people at the entrance of the cave, beams of flashlights going all around. "He's got to be here somewhere. Split up and look for him." The voice of a man issued, followed by several responses saying "Yes, sir."

Ronald did his best to breathe as little as possible, pushing himself as far to the side as possible. Footsteps could be heard moving around the entire vicinity of the cave, kicking stones and gravel scraping under their boots. He heard someone yell in pain, swearing about the fact that he smacked his head against a stalactite, only to be ridiculed by his comrades for being so clumsy.

Suddenly, he heard some footsteps coming towards him. Through a small hole in the wall he was behind, he could see who was coming. It was someone, he couldn't be certain of gender due to a full headed mask, walking towards where he was. This person was dressed in a white cloak, with a yellow cape flowing behind him. Ronald immediately assumed he wasn't a normal grunt, due to the way he was dressed. He might be one of the commanders, or even the leader of Team Cosmos. Ronald pressed himself even more against the wall, reducing his breathing to almost nothing.

The masked person walked up to the entrance of the small cavern. He had a flashlight on his helmet and he bent down to look inside. Ronald held his breath as the light crept closer and closer. As the light almost touched him, one of the grunts called out, "Hey, um, Trainer X, sir. Did you find something over there?" Ronald closed his eyes and braced for the worst.

The mask drifted there for a minute, before it moved out. Ronald saw the man shake his head no.

"Hm, shame. Looks like he's not here, either. I guess we should go back out and help the others look." The grunts flowed out of the cave. Trainer X was the last to leave. He turned his head and looked back into the cave before exiting.

Ronald breathed a long sigh of relief. He managed to escape Team Cosmos' tireless drones and their grunts and somehow eluded capture. But he knew he couldn't rest until they were all gone. So, he waited and waited, until he heard the noise fade away. He got up and checked around and found they had finally left.

Ronald suddenly realized how tired he was. So, without a moment's hesitation, he laid down and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Whew! That was too close. But, now what? What happened to Omega and Peach? And what's Ronald gonna do, now that he's alone and separated from his friends? Well, you know as well as I know what we're gonna do. We're gonna wait to see what will happen next. So, stay tuned!<p> 


	17. A Failed Capture & A Surprise Encounter

Hey there, everyone! Well, he did it. Ronald successfully escaped Team Cosmos. *cheers* But, of course, the story doesn't end there. So, let's jump right back in and see what Ronald's gonna do. But, first, we're making a quick stop at the base of Team Cosmos, where Constantine sits on standby, for word from his agents...

* * *

><p>Constantine sat at his desk, overlooking the various monitors in the room. Suddenly, one of the screens lit up with a message from the field. Constantine had been anxious about this message. "Open the link." He commanded one of the grunts, and suddenly, he was staring at the masked figure of Commander G.<p>

"Ah, excellent. Commander G, how are you? But, more importantly, did you obtain Target Zero?"

Commander G bit her fingernail and eventually responded. "Er, no, Lord Constantine. It appears he has escaped us once again."

In one sweep, Constantine knocked everything that was on top of his desk onto the floor. "What do you mean, he escaped? I sent my best men, the most advanced technology, even my second in command! And you're saying, he _still_ got away?!"

She gulped audibly. "Y- Yessir. I'm sorry. We searched the entire area, but he seems to have vanished. It's strange, but that mountain he ran to seems to mess with electronics. It completely fried the circuit boards on the drones, and all of our scanning tech is useless."

Constantine raised an eyebrow. "What about the GPS? Is it still tracking him?"

Commander G sighed. "No, sir. It seems the mountain is scrambling the signals. We can't be sure where on that mountain he is."

He pounded his fists on the desk, causing some of the nearby grunts to jump. "Then search everywhere! Tear that mountain apart rock by rock if you have to. But, I want that Keldeo!"

"Lord Constantine, I would suggest you calm yourself." Constantine turned sharply and saw Q standing there. "We don't have the resources to do something of that magnitude. And even if we did, it would be a huge waste of time."

"What?! How dare you speak to me that way! I should punish you for your insolence!"

Un-wavered, Q responded, "Do what you will to me, but the fact is, I'm right. And you know it."

Constantine growled at him. "Well, then, what do you suggest we do? Nothing?"

Q smiled. "For now, yes. But..." Q then leaned in towards Constantine and whispered something in his ear.

At first, Constantine's eyes widened, then he seemed to immediately be calm. "I see." he muttered. He then turned his attention back to the monitor. "Commander G, return to base. You're done searching."

Commander G looked astonished, but she didn't dare question his orders. "Yes, sir." The monitor flickered off.

Constantine retrained his gaze back on Q. "Let's hope you know what you're doing. You're dismissed." Q bowed and left Constantine to ponder on the dramatic turn of events.

* * *

><p>Ronald suddenly woke up to a sharp pain on his nose. "Ow! What the..." He searched around the cave, trying to find what hurt him, but when he didn't find anything, laid back down and tried to get some more sleep.<p>

As soon as he closed his eyes, he was greeted by another sharp pain, this time on his forehead right next to his horn. "Yeow!" He stood up and yelled, "Okay, who's there?! Show yourself!" Ronald noticed a flicker of movement going behind a nearby rock formation. Without hesitation, he leaped out of the cave and gave chase.

Ronald saw the sky was beginning to brighten with the gleaming rays of dawn.'Wow, I really slept hard last night.' Ronald thought to himself as he rounded the next corner. He came across a fork leading three ways. Ronald couldn't decide which one he should go in, he saw something coming at him. A small pebble. He was too slow to dodge and this time it hit him in his foreleg. "Ow! Quit playing games with me!" He yelled. He saw a flash of movement down the path going left, and he quickly ran down that way.

After traveling down the twisting and turning corridor a bit, he finally found himself in what only could be described as a large court area. There stone pillars all over the place in varying sizes, but what completely commanded the attention in the area were the three giant pillars towards the end of the court. In a short while, Ronald realized that he had been led straight into a dead end. He grumbled, "I'm really getting tired of this."

"Aw, you are? Too bad."

Ronald looked around to see where the voice came from. "Who are you? Show yourself!" he demanded.

Suddenly, three figures emerged from behind the three pillars. The one on the right was looked fairly dainty, with green and beige fur. The one on the left was absolutely huge, as if, under his brown and slate gray fur, he was made entirely of muscles. As for the one in the middle, he seemed to emanate power. This blue and white furred Pokemon seemed to literally draw all attention to himself, definitely singling him out as the leader. It seemed that the only thing that connected these three was the fact that they were quadrupedal, and each of them had a horn jutting out of their foreheads, just like Ronald.

Ronald gulped and stepped forward. "Okay, who are you?"

"Is this the guy we were supposed to find? Man, he's disappointing. A real runt." grumbled the Pokemon on the left.

"Hush, Terrakion!" the one on the left snapped, "It's obvious that he's the one. He's exactly as was described."

"Yeah, yeah, Virizion." the one called Terrakion brushed her off, "It's just, well, I expected someone, you know, more."

The one who was apparently known as Virizion gasped, "How dare you judge someone before you've seen their potential. If all men were as muscle-bound as you, I'd be surprised if there would be enough brains to go around."

"Hey, that was uncalled for! I'm not saying that he's weak, I'm just saying I didn't expect a pipsqueak!"

As the two Pokemon got even more heated in their argument, Ronald evaluated the situation worriedly. 'I think they've forgotten all about me...' Ronald thought, as the argument quickly degraded to a bunch of name-calling.

"Boulder head!"

"Tree hugger!"

"Gravel for brains!"

"Willow wimp!"

"Stop this at once, or I'll make you stop!" The middle Pokemon snapped at the other two.

They immediately quit their bickering and bowed to him saying, "Yes, Coballion." Thus, confirming Ronald's theory that he was the leader.

Coballion, which apparently is his name, turned back to Ronald. "I apologize for the behavior of my cohorts. They oftentimes butt heads to try to decide who's best. Now, you must be Ronald, am I not correct?"

Ronald nodded. "Um, I have a question. Well, two questions actually. Who are you, and how do you know me?"

Coballion nodded. "Ah, yes, you must be curious to know who we are since we had just come out of the blue like that. My name is Coballion, and the one to my right is Terrakion, and the one to my left is Virizion. And we are known as the Swords of Justice."

Terrakion nodded. "A real pleasure, squirt."

Virizion gave a slight bow. "Indeed."

Ronald thought about that for a minute. "Swords of Justice? Wait, I remember hearing about them! But, I thought they were in the Unova region."

Coballion chuckled. "Yes, but we have our ways of arriving in other regions. Justice is a necessary requirement in all regions."

Ronald nodded. Virizion walked up to him. "By the way, it was me who tossed those pebbles at your head."

Ronald frowned and rubbed his forehead with his hoof. "Yeah, thanks. That hurt, you know."

Virizion nodded. "Yes, I'm very sorry about that, but, you see, I needed to get you as deep into the mountain as possible so you could be safe."

"Safe?" Ronald asked, "What do you mean about that?"

Coballion gestured to the area around him. "This mountain shares similar qualities to Mt. Coronet, meaning the area as a strong magnetic field. It shorts out everything but the basest of human technology, as well as blocking out satellite and GPS signals."

Ronald looked starstruck. "So that's why those drones shorted out as soon as they got into the area!"

Coballion nodded. "That's why we wanted to bring you here, towards the center of the mountain. We wanted to protect you from those people, Ronald."

"Yeah, that brings me to the other thing. How do you know about me?"

Coballion smiled. "You can thank Elder Alakazam for that. We've known each other for a long time, and I owed him a favor."

"Wow! Really? Huh..." Ronald looked up towards the brightening sky. 'I wonder what other secrets he has...' he thought to himself.

Virizion walked up next to Coballion. "So, do you reckon it's time to begin?"

Ronald snapped back into reality. "Huh? Begin? Begin what?"

Terrakion walked up to Coballion's other side. "Why, your training, of course."

"T- Training? Really?" Ronald couldn't hold in his astonishment.

Coballion smiled and nodded. "That _is_ what you were sent here for. Granted, it seems you have gotten used to your body. But, do you know how to use it to its fullest extent?"

"I- Well, I- Um, I don't know." Ronald admitted.

"And there's my point. What you don't realize, Ronald, is that there is much more that you are able to accomplish in this form. So much more. Now," The three of them suddenly leaped onto the three pillars behind them, leaving Ronald awestruck with his mouth agape. "let's begin!"

* * *

><p>And now, we stop for now. Pretty interesting how Ronald is going to train with the Swords of Justice. I bet it would be very exciting...Too bad we're not going to see it.<p>

*crowd boos and hisses*

Hey! You know what? If you want to know what happens in between, you can write your own fanfiction about it. But as for me, I'm skipping to the end. Luckily, I have this handy portable time machine to jump me forward. I just press this button and...

*beep* *ZERP*

*distant roaring*

*distant screaming*

Ah, whoops! I think I accidentally brought back a dinosaur from extinction. Erm, well, tune in next time, and hopefully I'll have this all sorted out.

*drops microphone* *picks up mop* _I'm coming, Chelsea!_


	18. A Dark Plight & A Surprise Revelation

Hello, friends! Welcome back! So, yeah, I managed to get that dinosaur, and my producer was only _slightly_ injured. How great is that?! *clears throat* Anyway, I skipped the story ahead by approximately a month, so, let's see what's happened in that time!

* * *

><p>The sound of loud banging suddenly woke Omega up. As usual, the chains that held his paws together were as tight as ever, and the darkness surrounding him in the small dark cell seemed to suck away any hope or happiness that he could ever muster.<p>

It had been about a week (or so Omega could figure) since he and Peach were captured by Team Cosmos. He hadn't seen Peach since then, but could only figure that was being given the same kind of treatment as he was. He was usually left in his dark iron cell except when he was given what shouldn't even be called food, or being visited by the grunts to tell them where Ronald was by showing him a map. Naturally, he wouldn't tell them, and hoped that Peach was strong enough to maintain this type of loyalty to him as well.

Honestly, Omega had no idea where he went. After they had split up, Omega figured that Ronald had gone on to Iron Mountain for whatever reasons he had to go there, but of course, he wouldn't admit that to the enemy. Meanwhile, he and Peach had been constantly on the run from Team Cosmos, trying to play an everlasting game of cat and mouse. Unfortunately, their luck ran out when Omega accidentally nodded off when he was on night watch and they pounced on them when they were at their weakest. He tried to break out of his cell, but there was something in the chains that were latched onto his wrists that was blocking out his aura, and he eventually gave up any hope of escape.

Suddenly, the loud noise of the lock mechanism woke Omega out of his daze. He sighed, as the same two grunts who had been torturing him walked into the room. But what was odd about today was that in the hand of one of the grunts was a burlap sack. The sack was promptly thrown over Omega's head, and, as the chain was removed from the wall, he was led out of the cell for the first time during the week. He thought about of overpowering them, but decided against it, due his aura being cut off and his overall underfed frame.

He kept getting prodded along by the grunts, with the occasional shove in another direction. Normally, he'd be able to see where he was going with his aura, but it seemed the sack was made of with the same stuff that the chains had. So, he could only make out a blurred vision of his surroundings as he walked along. They walked down several long hallways, before arriving in front of a large door. He saw one of them swipe some sort of card across a panel, which made a low beeping sound granting them access. The door slowly creaked open, and the two grunts shoved Omega in before closing it behind them.

Omega thrust himself into the door in the faint hope to open it, causing a low metallic ring with every strike. He decided to stop soon afterward, after realizing that it was pointless to do so. He bent over forward and shook his head vigorously. Slowly but surely, the bag began to slide down, and eventually fell off. Now, he was able to see his surroundings, which didn't help much, as it was pitch black all around him.

He decided to try to sense anything with his aura. He began to pulse it, but he couldn't sense anything outside of the room, which seemed to be about the size of a small stadium. However, he felt that someone was there in the room with him. He recognized it immediately. "Peach!" he cried out in alarm. Using his aura, he quickly ran over to her. He picked her up, but found her unresponsive. "Peach, what's wrong with you!? Wake up!" he said, his voice full of concern.

"She's not going to wake up." A voice suddenly rang through the empty room. While Omega was focused on Peach, he didn't notice the door open for then man who was now standing there. The man looked up. "Hey! Can I get some light in here? I can't see a thing." Suddenly, as if on command, a couple of lights flickered on overhead, causing a dim glow through the room. "Ah, that's better." the man exclaimed.

Omega got up. "What do you mean she won't wake up? What have you done to her?"

In the dim light, he could see that the man had a partial mask on, covering most of his face except for his mouth, which was spread into a nasty grin. "You're probably wondering what I did to your little friend. Don't trouble yourself. She's only under a heavy sedative. She wouldn't go as, ah, willingly as you had. Besides, it's you who I wanted to talk to."

Omega scoffed. "Good luck with that. I won't be showing you anything, and you can't even understand me. It's a waste of time for you."

The strange man smiled again. "Oh, I don't believe it'll be a waste of time. And, yes, I can understand you."

Omega couldn't help but stare in shock and awe. The man giggled at this. "You seem surprised at this. And rightly so, I should say. Here, let me explain. You see, I have perfected a device that was commissioned by Mr. Stone of Devon Co. that enables one to understand the language of Pokémon. But, you would know about this, wouldn't you, Omega?"

Omega gasped in shock. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

The man shook his head. "Well, I guess out of everyone, you have biggest right to know." He reached his hand up and slowly removed the mask, revealing a face that had Omega reeling in shock. "Alpha?" he asked in disbelief.

The man smiled. "Ah, good, so you do remember. That's a relief." He replaced his mask onto his face.

Omega tried to leap up to attack him, but he found his chains holding him down on the ground. Alpha smiled. "You didn't think that I'd come in here without taking precautions, did you? The floor around you is completely magnetized. You can feel that, can't you?" Omega couldn't help but agree with it, as he even felt the tug from the floor pulling on him.

Omega, in spite of this, continued to struggle against it in vain. "Why?" he pleaded.

"Why what, dear brother?" Alpha asked, kneeling in order to be eye to eye with him, "Why did I betray you? Why did I make you this way? Why am I here now? Well, the answer to all three of these questions have one simple answer." He leaned forward and whispered into Omega's ear, "I'm the head scientist of Team Cosmos now."

Alpha got up while Omega looked at him with the shock and despair clearly written on his face. "It's true. That was the deal I had made on that night. In exchange for the research that Mr. Stone had conducted at that point, I would be made the top scientist of their organization. But, naturally, you had to go nosing around where you shouldn't be. So, we had to get rid of you, in the most certain and immediate way possible, no matter how unorthodox."

Alpha sighed. "But, of course, our plans were ruined by that Trainer, who just happened to find that Egg with you in it. I honestly, thought I had dealt with you for the last time, but the universe works in mysterious ways."

Suddenly, the radio that was strapped to his side blared to life. "Sir, this is the Main Gate, reporting in. We've lost all communication with the West Gate. We are investigating currently and will report in shortly."

Alpha chortled. "Well, looks like he's finally here."

"What? Who's here?" Omega asked.

He smiled at him. "Well, I would tell you. But, that would spoil it for you, so, I'll let you see for yourself. Meanwhile, I must go make some preparations. Farewell, brother." He then strode towards the large iron doors.

"Alpha! Get back here! I'm not through with you yet!" Omega yelled after him, pulling on his chains. But Alpha ignored his cries, and continued out of the door, which closed behind him with a loud clang.

Omega fell back down on his knees, his mind swirling at the new revelations that he's been exposed to. Suddenly, he heard a loud bang above him, as well as the sound of scurrying footsteps and varied yells ringing through the walls. Omega began to think. "Who is Alpha expecting? Could it be... Oh, no."

He silently hoped that it wasn't who he thought it was. Then, he noticed it had turned eerily quiet. Then, boom! The giant doors were knocked off their hinges. And standing there in the doorway, stood the one person is did not want to see here.

"Hey there, everyone!" Ronald exclaimed, "Did somebody order a rescue?"

* * *

><p>Well, that was sure exciting. A lot of revelations here. By the way, I wanna give a shout-out to NYSTLSportsFan for seeing that twist coming from a mile away. I might've made it a little bit too obvious there. Still, I feel that what's coming up next will pretty much blow your mind. So, stay tuned to find out what's next. Now, where's that- Oops!<p>

*whirring* *zap*

*distant beeping*

*distant screaming*

*sighs* Well, it looks like I just unleashed a giant robot from the future on everyone. Please excuse me. See you next time!


	19. Seething Anger & A Horrid Twist

Hey! You're back! Excellent! I can't wait to see what happens next! So, let's get started!

Omega sat there, jaws agape, as he saw his friend walk into the room. He noticed that there was something different about the way he took each step. A sense of confidence, which Omega had long since given up. Ronald stopped in the middle of the room and cocked his head at Omega. "What's the problem?" he asked, "I thought you would've been thrilled at my arrival."

This comment snapped Omega out of his daze. In his panic, he yelled, "Ronald, get out! It's a trap!"

It took Ronald a second to turn around on his feet and make for the door. However, it only took a split second for the door to slam on him, trapping him inside. "Curses." he muttered under his breath as he was surrounded by the darkness.

A shrill laughter made both of them jump, the sound echoing through the pitch blackness of the room. "Just like a Rattata, I've caught you in my trap." The sudden burst of light blinded the two Pokemon for a moment, before their eyes adjusted to the light to see their surroundings. They were in a dome-shaped room that appeared more like a small stadium, with the steel walls scaling up and over to the middle, where a brilliantly blinding light was bathing them in illumination. In the adjacent wall from Omega, and good ten feet off the floor, was a section that had glass instead of steel in the wall. And peering behind the glass was a man in glasses and a white lab coat, grinning down at them.

Ronald growled and shouted at the man. "Who do you think you are?"

The man chortled even more at his demand, as if it was a funny joke. "All I'll tell you is that I'm known as Lead Scientist Q, and I'm the man who finally captured you for Team Cosmos. But, if you really want more information about my identity, you should ask your Lucario friend. I bet he'll be glad to."

Ronald looked back at his friend, who was visibly shaking with emotion. "Omega, who is that man?"

Omega looked up at him, tears threatening in his eyes. "That man...is Alpha. My brother..." He lowered his head in shame.

Ronald turned back to the man. "So, it's you. Omega told me about you." he glowered at him.

"Oh, did he? Well, that makes my job easier, then. Yes, my name was Alpha, Omega's brother, and I used to be a scientist at Devon Corp., until, of course, I sold President Stone's blueprints and inventions to Team Cosmos. It was all worth it, in the end."

"You betrayed your brother!" Ronald roared back in retort, causing Alpha to jump a little. But, it only lasted a moment, and he straightened himself back up and looked a bit unwavered now.

"Yes, well," he paused to clear his throat, "he shouldn't have been snooping around where he didn't belong. I had no other choice but to do what I did."

Omega sat there speechless. He was hoping that if he got to talk to his brother, he might've cleared it up as a mistake. Now, there was no doubts of his intentions. Instead, Ronald spoke for him. "Do what? Changing Omega into a Pokemon Egg? Leaving him in the middle of Iron Island to die?! If my friend Riley hadn't found his egg, who knows what would've happened! I don't know about you, but this was not worth anything you've done."

And just like that, the grin returned to his face. "Oh, but it was. It was worth it, because doing what I did lead us to you, my boy."

Now, it was Ronald's turn to look dumbfounded. "Me? What does this have to do with me?"

His grin was almost ear to ear at this point. "There is an ancient prophecy that our leader had discovered when he was just a boy. A Pokemon, with the heart of a human, would become the key to unlocking the gate to Arceus. He founded our organization in order to find said key. Half of our time was dedicated to finding new recruits from disbanded teams, while the other half was spent scoping out possible candidates. We researched Champions, Elite Foursmen, Gym Leaders, Coordinators, Pokeathletes. We even kept our eye on a certain Pokemon Trainer running around with a Pikachu. But it was when we found you was when we realized you were the optimal candidate."

"Optimal candidate?" Ronald asked, uneasily.

"Yes. We were going to use a formula that would've been made you into something small and pathetic, but then we realized that, according to the prophecy, you were supposed to be blessed by Arceus himself before you would become useful to us. But, of course, we had to find a way to make it happen. After a while, the answer was clear."

Ronald looked up at him in horror. "No, you wouldn't."

If there was some way of making his mad grin even wider, Alpha had done it. "All it took was a couple of Excadrills to dig out the foundation under the Pokemon Center. Then, it was just a matter of some Dugtrios to use Earthquake to send the building tumbling down."

Ronald took a step back, aghast at the horrible deed being described to him. "You threatened the lives of hundreds of people and Pokemon, just to get to me? You're sick!"

Alpha chuckled at the insult. "I've been called worse. And besides, it all worked out for the best. Due in part to your "heroic" actions, you were the only casualty of the day. The only thing that went against my plan was Arceus giving you such a powerful form. It was an unforeseen variable that was easily solved."

Ronald scoffed at that. "I don't know about you, but I reckon that I'm not gonna just hand myself to you."

His look hardened into a scowl. "Disregarding the fact that you technically _did_ hand yourself over to me, I believe I have someone you might want to meet before you finalize that thought." Suddenly, a door that was under where he was slid open. There was a shiny, red, two-legged, insect-like Pokemon sprawled out behind the door, with pincers that look like other heads for hands and metallic-looking wings. A Scizor. "Wake up, my beauty." Alpha soothed into the microphone, "It's time to see your friend."

'This guy's nuts.' Ronald thought to himself. "I don't know any Scizors.'

But, nonetheless, the Scizor rose up off the ground and looked around the room, bleary-eyed. His eyes passed over the Keldeo without response. "Wh- What are you talking about? I keep telling you. He's dead." Ronald thought he knew the voice, but he couldn't place where.

"Oh, no. He's very much alive. He's right there, in front of you." Alpha cooed to the Scizor. "Don't you see him?"

The red Pokemon did a double take, where he finally noticed Ronald standing there. "That's not him. Quit lying! Tell me where he is! Where's Ronald?!"

Ronald froze. He felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest as a sudden rush of realization hit him like a wave. His mouth felt dry as he whispered almost inaudibly a name he never thought he'd hear again. "Damon?"

Wow! What just happened?! Damon's a Scizor? Ronald got captured? Q is actually Alpha? Oh, wait, we already knew that from the last chapter. My bad.

But, is there even any hope for our heroes?! You know there's only one way to find out! Stay tuned for more!


	20. A Forced Battle & The Forest Training

Hey, you didn't go away after the cruelty I showed to my characters! That's great! But, still, please don't run away from me. Don't make me get out the Houndooms.

*ahem* Let's get back to the story.

Ronald stared in shock as the Scizor that had once been his friend stumbled into the room.

"Wh- What is this place?" Damon asked. His eyes were squinting, so Ronald figured he had not been in a lighted place for a while. "What's happening?"

"Omega," Ronald called to his friend, "tell me that's not him. Please, you see his aura, so you must see it can't be him." Tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

Omega, who had been watching this drama play out, could tell by Ronald's aura that he was in deep distress. But, he could also see the aura of the Scizor was, in fact, Damon. And he knew that Ronald knew he could tell as well.

Damon started to look confused. "Omega? But, that's the name of Ronald's Lucario. I know I released him into the wild." For the first time, he looked in the far side of the room and saw Omega and Peach tied up in the chains. "What? Is that him? But, how?"

A uproarious laughter arose from the raised platform in the wall. Alpha was clearly taunting them now. "Yes, do you understand now? That Lucario _is _Omega, your friend's Pokemon. And the Keldeo standing before you? He is, in reality, your friend Ronald, brought back to life by the incredible power of Arceus. Isn't that wonderful?"

Ronald couldn't bear it any longer. "Hold your tongue, you impostor! You keep tugging at our feelings, as if this is some kind of game to you. Out of all of the people you could've brought into this, why him? Why the one person I could truly trust and wanted to protect?! Why are you such a-"

"It is you." Ronald was broken off by the small voice of his friend. He turned back to look at him. "I- I thought he was messing with me. Trying to torture me even more. But, you're really here. You're really back." Damon took a small step forward towards Ronald, then another step. "I can't believe it. Now, we can fight back. We can get out of here, and never look back. And when your mom finds out you're okay..."

Ronald took an instinctive step back. He wasn't keen on seeing his mom after he died, especially when he was like this. But, Damon was so happy, that he couldn't bear to think of what to do.

Unfortunately, the luxury of choice was stripped from him in an instant, as a beam of light appeared out of nowhere and zapped Damon in the head. He emitted a horrifying scream, then he slumped onto the ground.

Ronald ran to his friend's side, seeing he was unconscious. "Damon, wake up! Damon, are you okay? Speak to me."

Slowly, Damon opened his eyes, "Urgh..." he groaned. Suddenly, his face turned into a scowl and he thrust his claw into Ronald's side and sent him flying into the wall.

"Ow!" Ronald complained as he picked himself up. He looked back to where he slammed into the wall and saw a big dent there. He turned back to Damon in shock. "Damon, why did you do that?"

Damon responded to Ronald with silence, he rushed forward and attacked again. Foreseeing the attack, Ronald slipped to the side as his claw smashed into the wall, leaving a deeper dent. "Damon, what's wrong with you?! Why are you atttacking me?"

"Fool!" Alpha cried out from above. "Your friend is now under my influence. He'll do whatever I wish." He smiled sinisterly. "And my wish is to defeat you and capture you! Now, Damon, do as I command!"

Damon pointed his claw at Ronald, which opened and fired a beam of light. Ronald barely tumbled away in time. "Flash Cannon!?" Ronald cried out. "Damon, snap out of it! You have to fight it!" He started to run as Damon continued to fire blast after blast at him.

'Oh, no.' Ronald thought. 'Just like I was warned against.' He began to remember events that had occured before, during his training with the Swords of Justice.

"Concentrate! Stay on your feet!" Coballion commanded as he came in with Sacred Sword again.

Ronald barely had time to roll out of the way before the blow landed where he was moments before. However, before he had time to recuperate, Coballion launched a Double Kick at Ronald, sending him sprawling a good distance away.

Ronald slowly got back on his feet and began to charge at Coballion, screaming unintelligibly. Unfortunately, Coballion just stepped to the side and Ronald tripped and landed on his face.

Coballion sighed. "I guess we'll just pick up where we left off next time." He began to walk away, but then he noticed the muddy ground he walked on. It hadn't rained for several days, so it should've been dry. Too late, he realized it was a trap when Ronald turned and used Hydro Pump. Because of the muddy ground, Coballion could not hold himself down as he was blasted away into a tree.

Sweat drenching his forehead, Ronald marched over to where Coballion landed. Weakly, Coballion looked up at him. "Very well. Take me down and you're done."

Ronald looked at him with shock. "I'm not going to do that! We're friends, and I think I've done enough for today." He began to walk away.

Coballion chuckled. "That's too bad." He fired a Flash Cannon from his horn and sent the exhausted Keldeo flying, landing in the nearby stream.

Ronald layed there, panting, wondering just what had happened. He noticed Coballion walking up to him, so he got up. "That was dirty." Ronald mumbled.

"That was a lesson. Never take your eyes off of your enemy, even if it happens to be your friend." He offered his horn to Ronald and helped him out of the stream.

Ronald sighed. "But what was wrong with what I did? I thought showing kindness is the trait of being a Sword of Justice."

Coballion looked at him kindly. "It is. Kindness is a virtue to be treasured, honored even. But, sometimes, you must fight in order to survive."

"I don't understand." Ronald said.

Coballion sighed. "Let me ask you this. What if your friends suddenly turned their backs to you. What if they decided that you were the enemy, and you must be eliminated."

Ronald's eyes flew open at that. "Wh- What? My friends would never do that! We share a bond, and-"

"-you'd show them mercy?" proposed Coballion. "You'd try to avoid battle with your loved ones, even if they don't love you anymore, and wish for nothing else than your total destruction? That there is the problem. If you can't account for the possibility of your friends becoming your enemies, than you will never be able to face Team Cosmos."

Ronald sighed. Coballion met Ronald's eyes and said, "But, don't lose heart. You should only fight when you see no other option. It is your last resort, so try not to lose faith in your friends, either." He turned around and began to walk away. "Remember, there is always a time to run and a time to fight. It's your job to decide which is which." And Coballion disappeared into the brush, leaving Ronald, pondering about the things told to him.

Alpha looked down on the battle, as he saw the Keldeo get smacked into the wall again. He chortled, then turned to the wide monitor behind him. It flickered on and showed Constantine sitting at the head of a table, with various masked people on either side of it. Trainer X sat next to Constantine on his right-hand side, and the chair on his left was bare, as it was his.

"My lord!" he announced proudly, "I admit, it took longer than we expected, but, finally, we have trapped Target Zero. And, as you can see clearly, he has made contact with Experiment 212, and is not resisting, just as I had calculated. Now, once we capture Target Zero, we can proceed to-"

His sentence was cut short as a high-powered stream of water hit the glass, with the Scizor in the center. He stood there, horrified, as the Scizor slid off of the glass and onto the floor below. "What?! Impossible!" Alpha shouted in disbelief.

"It seems," Constantine said behind him, "You have underestimated Target Zero. I knew perfectly well that he wouldn't give himself up easily, even if it is indeed, one of his friends battling him. You should have thought things more carefully. You can call back once you've made some progress capturing him." The screen flickered off.

Alpha slammed his fists on the table, and walked up to the glass to see Ronald staring at him. "I can't see any other way around this. If I'm going to survive, I must fight!" Ronald looked back at Damon. "Don't worry, Damon. I swear, I will save you!"

Well, well, well. It seems Ronald has some real guts. Damon got brainwashed into battling him, but Ronald's strong enough to fight for his friend by _fighting_ his friend. Also, boo to Alpha, for brainwashing Damon and making this fight even happen.

Also, flashbacks. I think I might use more of them in future chapters. It seems to work. Anyway, that's it for this chapter. My biggest one yet, I might add. So, to everyone who's been patiently waiting for my story to get back underway, stay tuned.


	21. A Moment's Rest & The Mountain Training

Welcome to my haunted manor. Bwahahaha- Oh, wait. Um, never mind. Er, let's get back to the battle.

* * *

><p>Peach awoke to chaos.<p>

All throughout the week, all she could remember is darkness and horror, keeping a glimmer of hope in her heart that Ronald would come to save both her and Omega.

Now, she woke up and found herself tied up next to Omega in a strange room, watching Ronald battle a Scizor. A situation that confused her to great lengths. She looked at Omega, whose face was entirely void of emotion as he stared at battle unfolding before him. She nudged at the Lucario with her foot, and his blank look faded as he turned to Peach.

"You're awake!" he bluntly stated.

"Yeah, I just woke up." She shifted slightly to lessen the irritation the chains were having on her wrists. "Mind explain what happened while I was out?"

With great unease, he began to recall the events that had occurred in the last couple of minutes, from Alpha's partnership with Team Cosmos, to Ronald busting down the door, only to fall into Alpha's well-placed trap. When Omega revealed the identity of the Scizor now battling Ronald, Peach uttered a horrified gasp.

"A-Are you saying that that...thing is Ronald's human friend?!" Peach sputtered in anger. "How is that possible?!"

Omega sighed. "My best guess is that he used a more advanced version of the serum he used on me. How many more he performed experimentation on is beyond my guess, though."

Peach gritted her teeth. "And now he's making them fight each other. That's just sick."

Omega nodded and turned back to the battle. "I just hope Ronald has the strength to conquer this challenge.

Peach stared at the battle and watched as hoof met claw met horn. She saw Ronald tumble away after being whacked in his side with a Bullet Punch. Damon reared up and, as Ronald rolled swiftly to the side, lodged his claw into the ground where Ronald once was.

While Damon was immobilized trying to get his claw, Ronald had some time to stop and rest. Panting heavily, he began to try to observe his situation. 'This isn't working,' he thought to himself, 'He's strong and sturdy. At the rate I'm going, he's going to wear me out. If that happens, I'm doomed. What do I do?"

A faint recollection from his training dawned on him, something that allowed him to clear his head and think his actions through.

* * *

><p>Panting, Ronald leaned next to the mountain, barely being able to keep himself on the tiny foothold he was on. He looked up the mountain, seeing all the distance he still had to make. He made a sound that a little in between a whimper and a wheeze.<p>

"What's the matter, Ronald?" Virizion inquired. She was standing a good distance above him, having climbed this mountain with effervescent grace. "Are you about to give up?"

Ronald growled and shook his head. "No. It's just that this climb would've been done a lot faster if I still had fingers to grab with."

Virizion smiled lightly, sympathizing with his frustrations. "Ah, but, you don't. And that's the point of this little exercise. As I've said, your goal is to get to the top of this mountain. It's to get you used to your new body and to help you think like a Pokemon, instead of only looking like one."

Ronald sighed. "Yeah, I understand. Still, it would be nice..." Ronald gathered himself together, and made another leap to another foothold. Steadying himself, he leaped to the next foothold, but a portion broke off and his feet started to slip. "Aah! Virizion, help!"

Instead of assisting him, Virizion just stood there, watching him. She scoffed. "Men. Always boasting about their power, but as soon as things begin to go wrong, they always cry and whimper for help." She leaped down to a lower foothold. "Ronald, don't give in just because things look bleak. If brute force can't work, use your head and _think_ your way out."

Ronald, who was now hanging off the ledge with two of his legs, tried to lift himself up a little bit, but he faltered and one of his legs slipped off, leaving him hanging by one leg. Suddenly, a trick he had used in a previous battle came back to him. Virizion gasped as Ronald let go of the ledge, only to be propelled up by water blasting out of his hooves. Like he was riding a jet pack, he soared up and eventually landed on the top of the mountain. He turned back and called down. "Hey, you coming, or what?"

Virizion, brushing off the initial shock, started to laugh. She quickly bounded up the side of the mountain and met him at the top. "A bit unorthodox, but it got you all the way to the top. Well done!" As Ronald started to laugh, Virizion noticed a faint glow around Ronald's horn, which faded as soon as it appeared. 'Could it be...' she thought to herself, 'I should tell Cobalion when we get back. But, for now, I should let him enjoy his victory.'

And then she began to laugh as well.

* * *

><p>Just as Damon managed to dislodge his claw from the floor, he had to duck as Ronald came in swinging with his legs from above, receiving a glancing blow on his head from the attack. Before Damon could retaliate, Ronald blasted him with a Hydro Pump and bounded away. 'If he's relying on strength to win, then I'll have to use my agility to outmaneuver him.'<p>

Damon audibly was starting to become frustrated with the Keldeo, for he started attacking him wildly with reckless regard. But, Ronald smoothly dodged the attacks, and smashed him attacks of his own. Alpha was visibly getting agitated in his glass box as well, much to Ronald's pleasure.

Finally, after bombarding Damon with many attacks, he collapsed to one knee. "This is it!" Ronald announced. And, using his water jets, he fired himself horn-first at Damon to deal the finishing blow. Suddenly, as he reached him, Damon brought his claw up and struck him with a Bullet Punch head-on.

Ronald was knocked away, sprawling on the ground. After a few tense minutes, he rose to his feet, thrashing his head from side to side, understandably dazed.

When Ronald's vision cleared, he looked up at Damon, and saw that he was now holding something white. Ronald's eyes grew to the size of saucers when he realized what the object Damon was holding actually was. "He- He broke my horn off."

* * *

><p>What?! He did?! How could he?! There's no way he actually broke off his horn, is there? Holy mackerel, he did! Ronald doesn't have a horn. It's not supposed to happen like that, is it? You have just got to stay and see what happens next time! This isn't good...<p> 


	22. A Hero's Fall & The Pillar Training

*kneeling at shrine with pictures of Ronald all over* Why?! Why?! *turns around* Oh, you're here. Um, it isn't what it looks like. I'm just, er, mourning the loss of Ronald's horn. That's it. *closes door over shrine*

Um, so, anyways, yeah. Let's get back to it.

* * *

><p>Ronald stood in horror as he watched Damon toss the horn from one claw to another, as if it were a new toy he was playing with. From above, Ronald heard the menacing laugh of Alpha. "You just love falling into my traps, don't you, boy. I knew you would grow cocky after dealing blow after blow to Experiment 212. I purposefully had him stop so you'd try something stupid. And I was right, as always!"<p>

But, Ronald paid no attention to his jeering. His face had become a blank, and the energy that had been radiating off of him had depleted to nothing. Peach stared at him sorrowfully. "Oh, Ronald..." she whimpered softly.

Alpha's voice suddenly turned dark. "212, take him down." Damon rushed forward and bashed him with his claw. Ronald made no attempt to dodge or block, so he took the brunt of the attack, which left him on the ground, groaning.

The battle had suddenly transformed into a beat-down, as Ronald had become a rag-doll that Damon took great pleasure in beating to a pulp. Finally, Alpha called to Damon, saying, "That's enough, my pet. You've done well. Some of our grunts will come in and clean up this little mess you made."

Damon began to walk away from Ronald, who had seemed to officially have given himself up. Suddenly, a voice screamed from the other side of the room. "Ronald, get up!"

Ronald turned his head and saw that it was Peach who was yelling. "What are you doing?! You're going to give up, just like that?! What happened to the guy who, with no regard for his own well-being, charged into Pokemon Center to save everyone else?! Or the guy who protected me from the Staravia, when no one else would?! What happened to the hero who, with no feasible plan, charged into a heavily guarded facility just to save us?" Tears began to swell in her eyes, and she looked away, sobbing.

Ronald began to remember an event that occurred during training, which now began to make sense.

* * *

><p>Ronald yelped as he almost slipped from the stone pillar he was on. "Eyes up front!" Terrakion yelled as he leaped at him with his Sacred Sword extended. Ronald barely had enough time to scramble off before the attack landed where he just was. Terrakion looked up at him, his blade evaporating. "What's the matter? Scared of heights?"<p>

"N-No! I was just catching my breath." Ronald stammered. "You look pretty scared, yourself."

Terrakion looked confused. "What are you-" He was cut off when a Hydro Pump blasted at the base of the pillar, sending it tumbling. Terrakion jumped off of it and landed on a nearby one, laughing. "Okay, I admit, you got me on that one. But, the same trick don't work twice!" He launched himself off of the pillar and shot a Stone Edge at Ronald.

Ronald quickly dodged onto another pillar, and jumped to meet Terrakion with a Double Kick. Terrakion was waiting for him and slashed at him with a Sacred Sword. They fought in the air a moment, but Ronald lost and got blasted back down, barely managing to land on a pillar.

He laid down, breathing heavily. 'It's no good.' he thought helplessly, 'He's just too strong.'

"Don't tell me you're giving up!" Terrakion called over. "Everyone keeps saying how much you're improving, but I don't see it. I guess you were a mistake." He leaped down from the pillar and began to walk away.

Ronald thought about what he said. 'They say that about me? Really?' He closed his eyes for a minute. 'Then, I can't let down their expectations.' Struggling, he managed to erect himself before shouting down Terrakion. "Hey! We're not finished!"

Terrakion looked over his shoulder and, when he saw Ronald standing there, a brave look on his face, he couldn't help but smile. "Alright then, let's see what you've got!" Terrakion primed himself, before he took off and ended up soaring over Ronald's head, and, after landing on a pillar, rushed at Ronald with his Sacred Sword extended.

"Megahorn." Ronald cried out and his horn began to glow as he rushed to meet Terrakion in a full-out duel. The two clashed their horns together, sending sparks flying with every strike. Terrakion was surprised at Ronald's resilience, and he couldn't help enjoying this battle.

"That's it, Ronald! Keep it up!" Terrakion complimented, "Don't hold back! Give it everything you got! If your opponent knocks you down and you can still fight, then get up and fight 'til you can't anymore! Remember, your friends rely on you. They depend on you to fight for them. They have faith in you, so don't lose faith in yourself, no matter what!"

Ronald jumped back before sprinting forward, shouting, "I won't! I promise!" Suddenly, his horn extended to more than twice the length as he brought it down to meet Terrakion's Sacred Sword. Surprised by the power, Terrakion was overwhelmed and shot off of the pillar and into another nearby pillar, before falling to the ground.

"Terrakion!" Ronald cried out in shock. His horn retracted and he leaped off the pillar and rushed to Terrakion's side. "Terrakion, I'm so sorry. I didn't think that..." His voice trailed off as Terrakion started to stir.

He shook his head and turned to Ronald, grinning. "It's okay, kid. What you did there was something else. I didn't expect it, so I got knocked aside like a rag doll." He started laughing. "I guess they really were right about you!"

Ronald looked at him with a strange look, and smiled. "Thanks. But, what was that?"

"It was your own Sacred Sword." Ronald turned around to see Cobalion and Virizion walking up to the two of them. Cobalion beamed pleasure as he looked upon Ronald. "You've progressed much ever since you arrived, and unleashing that attack was a sign that you have taken your first step in unlocking your true potential."

Virizion smiled at him. "You've done very well with us, but, in order to unlock your full potential, you must discover it on your own. That is the only way." She walked up and wrapped her head around Ronald's, which was the closest thing they could do to a hug. "Still, I'm so proud of you. You will accomplish many great things if you continue on this path."

Terrakion gave him a little brotherly nudge. "You're the best sparring partner I've had in years. Let's face it, wiping the floor with Virizion all the time really wears down the charm."

Virizion wore a look of astonishment and anger. "I'm sorry, but who has the elemental advantage between us? Oh, yeah, it's me!"

Terrakion walked up to Virizion. "And a lot of good it does you! I easily overwhelm you all the time."

"My strength comes from my serene grace, not utter brute strength like you."

"Tree breath!"

"Stone head!"

"Enough, both of you!" Cobalion ordered.

They stopped bickering and stood to attention. "Yes, sir!"

Cobalion raised his leg and scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, you two give me a headache." Then he turned to Ronald. "There is much for you to accomplish, but we have word of something...troublesome."

"What is it?" Ronald inquired.

Cobalion sighed. "It seems that your friends have been captured by Team Cosmos while they slept."

Ronald gasped. "No! It can't be!"

Cobalion lowered his head. "But, it is. This is more important than your training with us. You must go and rescue your friends, before it's too late."

Cobalion told Ronald the location of the Team Cosmos base where they were being held, and Ronald bade them goodbye before running out of the confines of Iron Mountain and off to the base. 'Don't worry, guys.' Ronald thought to himself. 'I'm on my way!'

* * *

><p>Constantine sat at the head of the round table where they were sitting. He saw on either side the Commanders sitting there, the expressions on their faces being hidden by the masks. Suddenly, the call feature on the monitor in front of him blared to life once more. He nodded to a nearby grunt and she turned it on.<p>

Appearing on the monitor was Scientist Q, looking a little frazzled, but otherwise was the same. "Have you captured Target Zero yet, Q? You're trying my patience."

He bowed. "Lord Constantine, we are, but, moments away from achieving our goal. After Experiment 212 managed to break off his horn-"

Constantine slammed his hands on the table. "He did **WHAT?!**"

Q raised his hands defensively. "I've run a scan and it shows that it won't affect the results." Constantine settled down into his seat. Q gulped and continued, "Well, after he did that, Target Zero lost all will to fight. Yes, he just simply gave up. A couple of grunts are going down to retrieve him as we speak."

Constantine gave a contented sigh. "That's good. Bring him to the Portal Chamber, and we can begin the ceremony."

Q bowed again. "Yes, Lord Constantine. But, sir, about my experiments..."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. We'll talk about it as soon as Target Zero is secured."

Q nodded. "As you wish, Lord Con-" He was cut off by a sudden blaring alarm. "What?!" He ran over to the computer and started to type command prompts on it. "N-No! It can't be! Ahh!" The computer he was typing on spontaneously exploded in his face, and shortly the connection to the monitor blacked out.

Constantine rose from his chair and began to walk to the door. "Lord Constant-" Commander G started, reaching for him, but Trainer X held his arm in front of her, silencing her as Constantine made his way out.

* * *

><p>Wow! That was my longest chapter yet! I really felt great about writing this one, and not one rotten tomato was-<p>

*splat*

-thrown... Well, I guess not. Still, I wonder what caused that energy surge. There's only one way for you to learn about that. Stay tuned as I install some surge protectors.

*splat, splat*

No, don't throw those tomatoes there!

**BOOM**


	23. A Hero's Comeback & A Rat Cornered

Welcome back! The battle looked like it had been decided, but something happened that changed all that. What could it be? Well, now you'll find out. Let the battle recommence!

* * *

><p>Alpha picked himself off of the floor. He cursed under his breath as he saw most of the monitors in his room were busted from the high amount of power being released from Target Zero. 'How could he have that much power?' he pondered to himself, 'He was broken. He was defeated. And yet, all this happened? How is it possible?' He could still feel it, and he rushed to the glass window, which now had a few cracks in it, even though it's supposed to be virtually indestructible. What he saw down below horrified him.<p>

Power was emanating from the Keldeo, and not only was he standing, but his face showed even more determination then ever before. Ronald's hair was tousled and wild, losing the blue portion that ringed around his head, and the look in his eyes was utterly terrifying. Alpha saw that Ronald's horn had not only grown back, but now it was even fiercer-looking. The horn looked like it consisted of multiple horns, loosely stacked on one another, giving it a serrated look as well as being a sharp blue color. Three shots of his hair grew from the natural flow of the rest of his hair, each of them being blue, orange and green, a physical representation of his teachers, the Swords of Justice.

Alpha knew what this new form was, and he panicked. He fumbled around the room until he found the microphone. Amazingly, he found it still worked. "Experiment 212," he commanded into the microphone, "Attack him! Take him out, now!"

Silently obeying, Damon turned and charged at Ronald with a Bullet Punch. But, just as he was about to hit, Ronald side-stepped it at the last moment, causing him to stumble and lose his balance for a moment. Recovering, Damon turned around and fired a Flash Cannon at Ronald, but once again, Ronald dodged the attack.

Damon, growing more frustrated, began an all-out assault on Ronald, hacking away with his claws and firing blasts at him with every chance. Ronald continued to dodge and deflect the attacks, slowly backing away from Damon.

Suddenly, Ronald felt that he had backed into the wall. Damon smiled, now that he had his prey cornered. He put all of his strength into one more Bullet Punch and fired at Ronald's head, hoping to knock off his horn once again. However, Ronald was ready for the attack, and ducked as the claw soared over his head, lodging into the wall.

Damon tried to tug at it, but it wouldn't budge. Ronald smiled slyly at Damon, and suddenly announced, "Aqua Tail!" His tail began to have water swirl around it, until a thick layer surrounded it. He then clubbed Damon in the gut with his water-logged tail, dislodging his claw from the wall and sending him tumbling away.

As Damon rose back up, he came face to face with Ronald as he jammed his hoof into Damon's chest, sending him spiraling into the air, calling out, "Double..." He then leaped with the help of his water jets to get above Damon, before bringing his legs down on him, crying out, "...Kick!" Damon plunged into the floor below, sending dust flying as he crushed the floor.

Damon coughed as he struggled to get up, but he felt too sore to even move. He looked up, and began to become terrified as Ronald began to fall back to earth, headfirst. His horn began to glow, and then it doubled in length. It suddenly doubled in length again, and Ronald cried out, "Secret Sword!" He came down on Damon, and a loud boom shook the walls of the room and a dust cloud filled the entirety of the room, making it impossible for Alpha to see what was happening.

When the dust settled, Alpha gasped in horror as he saw Ronald standing over Damon, who was knocked unconscious. Ronald lowered his head next to Damon's and whispered, "You battled well, my friend. Now, just rest. I'll find a way to get us all out of here." He looked over to Peach and Omega, who seemed to be doing okay. He nodded to them, and they nodded back, before he fired his water jets and rocketed off toward the glass box.

When Ronald leveled off at the room, he saw Alpha scrambling around, trying to stash papers into a suitcase. 'I have to save the essential notes,' he thought to himself, 'Lord Constantine will forgive me. He has to. I just need another chance to prove myself.'

Alpha jumped as he heard the sound of cracking glass. He looked up and saw Ronald smashing his horn into the bulletproof glass, the web of cracks spreading farther and farther with every hit. Suddenly, the glass finally gave way, spreading a hail of broken glass all over the floor, which made Alpha cover his face to prevent the little shards from hitting him.

He looked up and saw Ronald settle down on the floor of the room, sending the papers around the room scattering. Alpha scrambled away in terror as Ronald kept up his approach. "No! Stay away!" He cried out in fear, throwing whatever he could find within arms reach at him. Most everything that he threw at Ronald he either dodged, or the items proved too ineffective to worry about.

Eventually, Ronald was standing over Alpha, and he lowered his horn down to the scientist's neck. "So, you can understand me, right?" Ronald inquired, to which Alpha gave a quick nod. "Good. Then, let's talk."

A loud metallic clang dragged both their attentions to the back of the room, where a door had just opened, a figure standing within the door frame. Alpha began to quiver in fear as he recognized who the ominous figure was immediately. The figure began to chuckle in a male voice. "Indeed. I'm quite interested in conversing with you. So, yes. Let's talk."

* * *

><p>Uh-oh. Just as Ronald has come victorious from his forced battle with Damon and corner Alpha, a new person has come to intervene. I bet you know who it is, but I won't do the reveal until the next chapter. Sorry.<p>

By the way, for all of you keen-eyed Pokemon fanatics, I regret to tell you that I've done it again. I gave Ronald a false move. This time, I gave Ronald the move "Megahorn", which was used in that spar against Terrakion in that flashback during the last chapter. So, sorry.

Also, soon, I'll be reviewing the chapters of my story and, if it's needed, I'll be either revising them, or rewriting them altogether. (Thank you, RGGodzilla, for bringing this problem to my attention.)

Finally, I have put up a poll about my story a little while ago. So, if you have some spare time, just jostle over to my profile and check it out. Oh, and I know I haven't been asking at all, but please review my story. Every one is important! So, now that I've gotten that out of the way, stay tuned to see what happens next!


	24. The Root Of Evil & A Difficult Choice

Well, you're here. That's good. Have you been eagerly waiting for this epic showdown between the main protagonist and the main antagonist?

No, you haven't? Why not? This is really exciting. Well, whether you like it or not, this next chapter begins, NOW!

* * *

><p>Ronald observed the man as he walked into the room. He was a tall, good-looking man, with spiky, light-blonde hair and strikingly yellow eyes. His outfit was mainly white, with a long, flowing cape behind him which was white on the outside and gray on the inside. There were golden lines that flowed from the ends of his sleeves to his shoulders, which were embedded with emeralds at the shoulders. In the center of his chest was obviously the logo of Team Cosmos, a golden letter C that had two spikes protruding from the upper and lower left of the C with green circles embedded in the spikes. Attached to the side of his head was a similar device that Alpha wore. His smile was that of pure pleasure.<p>

The man bowed to Ronald, which struck him as rather odd. "It is such an honor to meet you." the man said, righting himself. "My name is Constantine, and I am the leader of Team Cosmos."

Alpha, who was watching him come in, stretched out to Constantine and cried out, "Lord Constantine, y-you came to save me! Th-Thank you so much, Your Gra-"

"Quiet, you buffoon!" he barked sharply at Alpha, "Can't you see we are in the presence of someone greater than ourselves?! I'll deal with you, soon enough. Right now, this is much more important than you."

He turned back to Ronald, the scowl that had adorned his face disappearing almost instantly. "So, where were we? Ah, yes, introductions. My name is-"

"'Constantine.'" Ronald interrupted. "Yeah, you've said that. I also know you know who I am, and you were the one who had me killed."

Constantine held up a finger, attempting to interject, "I prefer the term 'freed from your corporeal body.'"

Ronald rolled his eyes. "I'd call it 'assassination.'"

Constantine coughed lightly twice, clearing his throat. "Well, I suppose that you're free to your own opinion. Regardless, I believe that you are the key to one of the greatest achievements of the human race. Come," he gestured out the door, "I'll fill you in on your role as we walk."

Surprisingly, Ronald refused to move.

"Hm, what's wrong?" Constantine asked. "Why won't you come?"

Ronald made a thoughtful look. "Well, let's see. Could it be because you started hunting me almost as soon as I came back? Or, maybe it's because you captured my friends and tortured them? Oh, and let's not forget how this nutso turned my best friend into a Scizor and made me battle him." He gestured to Alpha as he said his last statement.

Constantine sighed. "Ah, yes. I can see that could cause some...distress. Very well. I'll make a deal with you. If you join with me, I'll release your friends. I don't need them anyway."

Ronald arched his eyebrow. "Really? That's your deal? Then let me one up it. If you let both me and my friends go, I'll make sure not to wreck the other half of your base. I'm sure you would love to save a little money. And, I'll give you back this jerk as a bonus." He placed his hoof on Alpha's chest, preparing to fire off a Hydro Pump if it came to it.

Constantine chuckled, then the chuckle quickly grew in strength until it became a maddened laugh. "Is that really...the best...you can offer?" He said in between his guffaws. Eventually, he calmed down, and looked at Ronald with a very evil glare. "Very well, then. If you wish to bargain, then I'll up one on you."

He then pulled out a remote out of his coat pocket and pressed a button on it. Suddenly, Ronald heard a sound out in the domed room, and he turned to see a giant device emerging from one of the walls. It appeared like one of those death rays Ronald remembered from the sci-fi movies he used to watch.

"Do you like it?" Constantine asked, suddenly next to Ronald, surprising the Keldeo. "A brilliant man by the name of Colress invented it. It captures the mind of almost any Pokemon, while simultaneously boosting their strengths past their maximum capacity. Ingenious, really."

Ronald looked over to Constantine. "Why are you telling me this? Are you going to make me do what you want?"

Constantine chuckled slyly. "Oh, no. It wouldn't work like that. You'd have to come on your own accord. However, I can't say the same for the two down there." He pressed another button on the remote and the laser positioned itself so it was pointing directly at Peach and Omega.

Ronald gasped. "No!"

Constantine sneered. "So, here's my counterproposal. You shall come with me quietly, or I will use this on your friends down there. Would you really want to fight your only other friends? And, even if you did succeed, you couldn't possibly hope to escape here by yourself. There are hundreds of grunts here, as well as all of the Commanders. It would just be a waste of time and energy. So, do we have a deal, or do you have a better idea?"

Ronald froze, a sense of hopelessness settling in his chest. He couldn't bear it, but he knew what had to be done. Clenching his teeth, he muttered, "Curse you, Constantine." Suddenly, he reverted back to his original form, with his horn fully grown back. He bent down on one knee and said, "I...concede."

Constantine nodded. "A wise decision." He clapped twice, and immediately four grunts entered the room, holding chains in their hands. They began clasping shackles around Ronald's legs, binding his front and back hooves together. They also clasped a shackle around Ronald's head to the front shackles, forcing his head into a downward position. They then led Ronald out of the room and into the hall beyond.

Alpha got up and brushed himself off. "I'm glad you came when you did, Lord Constantine. I thought for sure that-"

A look from his leader silenced him. "Don't think I forgot your failure, Scientist Q. I'll deal out your punishment when I come to it." Constantine turned to a nearby grunt. "Have some men get all of those other Pokemon out of here. Their usefulness has waned."

As the grunt left, Alpha cleared his throat. "S-Surely you don't mean _all_ of the Pokemon, correct?"

Constantine gave him a venomous look. "As I said, _all_ of the Pokemon have waned in their usefulness. That includes your little, ahem, experiment."

Alpha began to stammer, "B-B-But, L-Lord Constantine-"

Constantine swept his cape in a sense of finality as he marched out the door. "You will join us soon, Scientist Q. The moment of reckoning has finally arrived."

And, like that, he was gone, leaving Alpha in the half-destroyed room, papers still fluttering around. He looked down and saw that grunts had already arrived in the domed room and were taking the Pokemon away, including Experiment 212.

He clenched his fists. "I will make him pay for this injustice, someday." And then, he stormed out of the room to meet with his leader.

* * *

><p>...Well, that took a turn for the worst. Ronald has actually been captured. I enjoy twists as much as the next guy, but that was just terrible. And just think, I wrote it that way. I'm such a masochist.<p>

But, hey, hope is still alive. Ronald is, at least, okay, and his friends might just turn out alright. But, what is Team Cosmos planning? You know the drill. Stay tuned to find out.

So, I'm pretty sure you guys have already noticed, but I've made a couple of references to the anime. In this chapter, I mentioned the device used by Colress during the Black and White saga, and a couple of chapters ago, I've made a light reference to Ash. If you understood these mentions, then let me clarify something for all of you, this is not an anime story. I just make these references to either help with my plot, or just for fun.

Also, I decided that, in order to write a good story, I had to become more descriptive than I have been. You've probably noticed this when I described Constantine during this chapter. So, tell me what you thought of that, if you get the chance.


	25. The Truth Unfolds & A Madman's Reason

Well, the rescue mission was a big bust. Ronald attempted to break into the Team Cosmos base to free his friends, only to be captured himself. Now, the future seems bleak for our hero. Will he survive this next challenge? Read on to see.

* * *

><p>Ronald stumbled as he was marched along, falling flat on his face. A nearby grunt began yelling at him to stand back up, threatening him with the cattle prod he held in his hand. In timid fear of the fresh pain, since he was already shocked by it several times, he stood back up on unsteady legs and hastened his pace.<p>

Blearily, he saw that he was walking down a lighted hallway that kept consistently going in a downward slope, meaning that wherever he was going, it would be further underground. Walking beside him, Constantine had a cool expression on his face, but one could easily tell that there was a slight smirk on his face. "Do you know," Constantine began, "how long it's been since I first started this little organization? What goal I set out for the goal, for which I am but moments away from now?"

Trying to keep his mind off of the pain, he responded, "No, I'm afraid I haven't read the 'almighty almanac' of Team Cosmos. Why don't you enlighten me?"

Constantine chuckled. "Even in bondage, you still attempt forms of resistance. I suppose defiance is just simply in your nature." He looked off into the distance of the hall ahead of them. "Very well. I'll tell you our plan, and what your role is in it."

Alpha, who was trailing behind them the whole time, took this opportunity to speak up, though timidly. "S-Sir. I know I-I m-may be sp-speaking out of t-term, b-but, I don't th-think you sh-should really t-tell him about our plans."

Constantine looked back and gave Alpha an evil glare. "I shall tell whomever I wish our plans if I feel like it. Do you understand me, Scientist Q?"

Alpha immediately closed his mouth and turned away in disgrace. Constantine scoffed at his scientist's incompetence, then he turned back to Ronald and began his monologue.

"Team Cosmos was formed out of the ashes of every other organization before us. From Rocket to Galactic to, most recently, Flare. With the greatest members of these teams under one flag, my wish is to make this world a better place."

"You know, there are better ways to make it a better place." Ronald interjected. "You could plant trees, buy veggies from farmer's markets, or even volunteering to pick up trash from the side of the road. You don't have to form an evil organization to do who knows what for who knows why."

Constantine's eyebrow twitched momentarily, before emanating a dark chuckle. "You think you can make jokes about this, but this world is corrupt, and you know that. The constant struggle between light and dark, good and evil, order and chaos. This has been the constant theme for eons. No one battle will end it. What is it that gardeners say? 'If you want to stop a weed, you need to pull it by the root.'"

Ronald shot a sideways glare at him. "And, pray tell, what is this 'root' you wish to pull?"

Constantine shuddered another, darker chuckle, sending a chill through Ronald's spine. "Everything, my boy. Everything about this world is wrong. From the very beginning, when Arceus was first born out of its celestial egg and wove the universe, it has always been flawed. And do you know why that is?"

Ronald pondered this, but before he could say, Constantine told him his answer. "Free will. That's what Arceus got wrong. He let every creature have free will. From the first Pokemon in existence, to a newborn baby born not a week ago, we all have a choice. A choice that can, and will, determine our fates. And, in most cases, people choose to do terrible things, just because they can. Even you, with your so-called 'pure heart', have probably done something regrettable.

"When I formed Team Cosmos, my one goal was to fix the problems of the world, by hitting the figurative 'reset button' and destroying this horrible place, in order to build a place that is better. A place where every thing is good. No wars, no petty disputes, no violence at all. A world where everyone can live peacefully. That is what I wish."

A throng of silence hung in the air for a few minutes, before it was broken by Ronald's snickering chuckle, which grew into a full-out laugh. "Seriously?! That's your plan? Um, news flash; this whole plan of yours has been done before. Specifically, by Team Galactic, and they failed. What, do you recycle your ideas as much as you do your grunts? How do you think _you_ could do any better than they did?"

Constantine growled. "Be silent, you unappreciative Tympole! You think I don't know of Team Galactic's failed ambitions?! I know perfectly well how Cyrus' plan crumbled at the hands of some insignificant child. But, there is one key difference between that fool's plan and my own."

Ronald snickered lightly. "What? Did you want the child to beat you up personally as a Keldeo?"

Constantine grinned eerily. "No. You see, Cyrus' goal was to use the power of Palkia and Dialga to create his universe. But, that just won't do for me, because, great as they are, they still are pallor compared to other deities. I'll surpass Palkia and Dialga and go straight to the top of the pecking order, so to speak." The look of shock on Ronald's face was enough for Constantine to continue. "That's right. I shall secure Arceus himself!"

Ronald growled, but but had it cut short with a yelp as he was zapped by the prod. "You monster. You crazed lunatic." Ronald grumbled. "No one can harness the power of Arceus. You're insane for even considering it. Arceus lives in his own plane of space. No one can reach him."

Constantine stopped, and the rest of the train did as well. He walked in front of Ronald and grabbed his mane, pulling his hair so they met eye to eye, causing a good deal of pain on Ronald's part. "You may call me crazy, but I have two things that will allow me to locate Arceus. The first one you'll see soon enough. But," Constantine brought his face down to the Keldeo's, their faces about an inch apart now. "the second thing is that, now, I have you. I happened upon a certain prophecy, you see, which told of a Pokemon with the mind of a human, as well as a pure heart being the key to opening the gateway to Arceus himself."

He let go of Ronald's mane and let his head fall, his eyes wide open as the flood of realization came upon him. "So, you see, boy," Constantine said with confidence, "all you have accomplished by evading me was prolonging the inevitable. With this, you shall complete your prophecy, and open the gates to Arceus for me, so that I may be able to begin this world anew." He then began laughing maniacally, earning looks of unease from Alpha and the other grunts.

Eventually, Constantine calmed down, and began walking off down the corridor, saying, "Now, let us go. Your destiny awaits." Once more, with a few more zaps from the grunt, Ronald reluctantly followed after him, with the others trailing close behind him. As they reached the end of the tunnel, Ronald could see a light at the end. _I was always told to stay away from the light at the end of the tunnel, but I guess I have no choice now. What horrors await me, I wonder?_

Soon, they exited the tunnel, and Ronald could only gape in awe at the place he had entered.

* * *

><p>...And which you will find out about next time. I know, I'm a jerk for cutting it off, but, hey, something has to be here to keep you around.<p>

*gets hit in the head with a baseball* Ouch! I don't know who threw that, but it's mine now! Now, all I need is a bat, and I can start playing baseball!

*a Noibat comes down from the ceiling and attacks* Aaaiiiiyyyaaahhh! No, I didn't mean that kind of bat! Waaaahhhhh! *runs around, screaming* Well, hopefully I'll be rid of this thing next time, until then, stay tuned! Ow, ow, ow! Don't bite there!


	26. The Forgotten Ruin & A Melodious Torture

*comes in wearing tattered clothes, panting*

Hi, folks. I'm sure you're wondering why I look a bit, er, out of sorts. It's a long story involving a time machine, a pack of gum and a cave full of Sandslashes. But, I'll talk about that later. For now, let's get back to the story.

* * *

><p>Ronald gaped in awe at the new room he was brought to. It looked to be a natural hollow in the earth that seemed to stretch a half-mile upwards and outwards. The area was dome-like, making it seem like a larger version of the battlefield he had just left, and stalactites hung down from the ceiling.<p>

But, the most impressive thing about the room was directly at its center. An altar, carved out of a brilliant white stone which shone even more due to the artificial light, rose about twenty feet out of the ground, which was a contrast to the dull rock around it. It was in the shape of a pyramid, with a flat top and stairs going up its side. On top, he see four large pillars on each corner, though he couldn't see anything else up there due to his perspective.

"Impressive, is it not?" Constantine inquired of the Keldeo. "Fate led us to this place when we noticed a large anomaly in this area. This place was located under a Pokemon reserve, so we couldn't get clearance to dig this place out from the top. However, we were able to secure some land nearby and tunnel our way in. But, when we found...all of this?" He gestured with his hand at the entire cave. "Well, that was when I knew our goal was now within our reach. See, apparently this place was designed to act as a bridge to Arceus by the ancients, and apparently was lost after a severe earthquake struck the land. Legends say that Arceus himself caused this ruin to disappear, having the earth swallow it into its depths. This was also the place where we discovered the prophecy which led us to you."

He looked at Ronald, smiling and patted his head. "You should feel honored, being the key to the beginning a new world."

Ronald reciprocated his smile with a scowl, jerking his head away from him. "I _feel_ like I've been chained down and am being used as a tool to complete your ludicrous ambitions."

Constantine uttered another dark chuckle. "I'm sure you'll begin to see things my way soon enough. But, we've wasted enough time. I've come to far to wait any longer. It's time to begin Creation anew." He began to walk to the altar, with Ronald being prodded along by the grunts.

* * *

><p>When they reached the top of the altar, Ronald saw that a small crowd had gathered on the top with them. Each of these people were wearing robes that covered them completely, save for their faces which bore strange masks that covered the top half of their faces, leaving the lower half exposed. In front of these people stood Trainer X, in his black outfit and helmet, visor down.<p>

One of the masked people, a woman in a light gray robe who's mask looked like two pearls over the eyes on top of a large hexagonal diamond within a black wisp of sorts, stepped out and bowed to Constantine. "Everything has been prepared for you, Lord Constantine."

Constantine nodded to her. "Good, Commander G." Then he motioned to the two grunts who stayed with him, Alpha having stayed behind to work the machinery, and they grabbed Ronald and dragged him over to the center of the altar. They shackled him to the floor with chains that were stretched tightly against the four pillars. They then retreated down the stairs in a rush, slightly worrying Ronald.

Constantine then turned to Trainer X. "Trainer X, please hand me the Azure Flute." The masked man complied, pulling out a wooden box that he handled with immense care and brought it to Constantine. He opened it, revealing a purple instrument that could have passed for a piece of coral, with various holes on it and a red reed. Grinning, Constantine gently picked up this artifact and held it over his head for all to see.

"My friends and allies, the time has come for a new age to come to this world! With the Azure Flute, a sacred artifact with ancient ties to Arceus, I shall open the portal to the realm of Arceus, and secure the power to form the world, no, the entire cosmos into the image of utter perfection! Today, the ambitions of Team Cosmos shall finally come to light!" He thrust out both his arms and yelled with utter conviction, "Long live Cosmos!"

All of the grunts mimicked Constantine, thrusting out their arms and yelling in response, "Long live Cosmos!" The Commanders did this as well, but Trainer X remained silent.

Constantine raised the flute to his lips, but paused as he heard someone snickering behind him. He turned to find that it was Ronald. "What are you gonna do?" taunted the Keldeo, "Play him a lullaby? How do you know that thing will actually work the way you want it to?"

Constantine smiled. "Only one way to find out, I suppose." He brought it back up again, but then he lowered it again and said to Ronald, "By the way, the ancient ways tend to revolve around...certain sacrifices to be made, as you probably know. Just be glad in the knowledge that yours will make the world a better place."

Ronald looked at him, his eyes wide. _'Certain sacrifices?' He couldn't mean..._ But as he had this thought, Constantine brought the flute to his lips and began to play a heavenly melody on the flute. The sound that came out of it was almost unearthly in its tone, and it left many of the grunts in a trance, swaying to the music.

Suddenly, Ronald looked around and saw that the four pillars were beginning to pulse with a blue light, seemingly in tune with the music Constantine was playing. Sparkling blue orbs of light appeared above the pillars, and then flashed and a connection was formed between the lights out of blue electricity.

These orbs of light suddenly branched out another electrical connection towards the center of the pillars, right into Ronald's body. "GGGYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ronald screamed in agony as the charge surged through his body.

* * *

><p>Alpha cringed at the painful scream as he observed the power levels coming from the altar steadily rise, especially in the center. "It's coming." He murmured to himself. "The portal is nearly here."<p>

* * *

><p>And that wraps up this chapter quite nicely. It sounds like they're about to sacrifice Ronald for their plan. But, would I be twisted enough to kill off the hero, again? Well, I promise you that, whatever you believe now, you'll be extremely surprised what will happen in the next few chapters, so stay tuned to see what will happen.<p> 


	27. Fading Strength & A Mysterious Voice

*pant pant* Augh! Over five months and not one single thing written. I feel so embarrassed by this! I would've gotten to this sooner, but these guys burst into my house and kidnapped me, dropped me into the desert and l had to survive with nothing but a coconut, a tube of toothpaste and...well, you know what? I just found it not as necessary to explain what happened now. Let's just focus on getting back to this story, which you guys can do while I bump up my security system in my house.

* * *

><p>It had been approximately 30 minutes after the initial shock when Ronald finally woke up. He still felt the excruciating pain all over his body from the electric energy coming from the pillars, the same one which had knocked him out minutes beforehand, and he knew that he was dying. He was still being kept upright by the chains that were fastened on before, so even while unconscious he was still standing.<p>

Blankly, he looked around the top of the pyramid to see where all of them were. Ronald located Constantine at the top of the flight of steps that Ronald had just ascended minutes ago, the leader of Team Cosmos making some sort of grandiose speech to all of his grunts, for which Ronald was just too tired to listen to. The rest of the Commanders either stood by Constantine's side, or kept watching Ronald. The Keldeo noticed especially that the one that was called Commander G kept an especially close eye on him, as if there was nothing more important than him. In his painful stupor, Ronald almost thought he saw something like pity in the Commander's eyes, and he couldn't help but think that he had seen those eyes before, though he was in too much pain to think about it.

His gaze then fixed upon Trainer X, the man in black that had haunted Ronald's dreams for over a month now. He began to growl, but an especially strong surge of electricity surged through him and caused a groan to form in his mouth instead, his eyes rolling back into his head.

Suddenly, Ronald noticed something above him, something that would've made his jaw drop if it wasn't being forced shut by Ronald being held shut by the electricity running through his body. It was a glowing disk of energy about the size of a Pokeball that seemed to just be suspended in midair. What's more, it was rapidly growing in size, having gained several inches in diameter just as Ronald was looking at it. _So, this is what my life is being poured into?_ the Keldeo thought to himself as another surge of electricity tore through him which caused him to cry out in pain once more, _I don't know what it even is. Is this Constantine's 'gateway to Arceus?' Whatever it is, it can't be any good for anyone. I gotta get out of here, but how?_

Unfortunately, despite his desperate need for a way out, there appeared to be none to be seen. A feeling that had alluded Ronald until now suddenly surged through him at this point. It was the feeling of hopelessness. He felt like dropping to his knees and giving up, but he kept on standing anyway. _No. I will never give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall. I'll keep fighting until I die!_

Ronald's thoughts suddenly turned back to his friends. Did Constantine really release all of his friends, like he promised? And even if he did, would they just go back in and try to rescue him, just as he foolishly tried to do? Would Damon be able to get used to his new form, just as Ronald had? Would he live in Elder Alakazam's village for the rest of his life, a human in a Pokemon's body? And his mom, what would happen to her? It was then that he realized he hadn't even given his mother one thought during all the time he was a Pokemon, and that made him more miserable than ever.

_"Don't give up!"_

Ronald perked up as he thought he heard a voice. He looked around, but he didn't see anyone near him who would be talking to him.

_"You must keep fighting! Never quit!"_

Ronald now knew somebody was talking to him that time. It sounded like someone talking into his ear, but at a volume that should've been heard by the other people around him. He began to wonder if this is just a side effect of him being electrocuted so much.

_"Don't worry, I'm real,"_ the voice said, as if reading his thoughts. _"Yes, I am reading your thoughts, but that's not important right now."_

The voice continued, _"Listen, your right front hoof was shackled incorrectly. You have to break free and destroy the altar. It's the only way to stop the portal from being formed and save everyone you love. But, you must believe in yourself, otherwise, all is lost. Good luck."_

He sensed that whoever was talking to him was gone. Now, with a new sense of determination, Ronald tugged at his leg harder than he had ever pulled on anything in his life. He felt his hoof slowly, but surely, being pulled out of the iron clasp. Ronald looked up and saw that the portal was now several feet in diameter, easily big enough for a full-grown man like Constantine to walk through. In other words, Ronald didn't have much time left to stop him.

He pulled and pulled as if his life depended on it, which it did, and with a last tug of effort, he finally managed to tug his leg free. With no time to spare, he quickly aimed his hoof at the closest pillar and fired a high-pressure water jet. The powerful stream of water conducted the electricity that the pillars were generating, causing Ronald fresh and even more intense pain.

However, Ronald kept blasting at the pillar until finally the energy stopped coming from it. Then, the pillar toppled, crashing down the side of the pillar. Ronald weakly grinned to himself. _I stopped it,_ he thought, elated.

However, it was at that moment that his happy feeling was broken by Constantine storming up to him, his face twisted with rage. "What have you done?! You-You've ruined everything!"

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><p>Welp, there's my chapter! I hope everyone's happy to see me back! I know I am! I promise I'll try not to hold out on the story any longer than I have to now, so please have faith that I will finish Pokemon Resurrection. I will never give up on this!<p>

So, in other news, have you guys voted in the poll on my profile yet? If not, you should really check it out and leave your vote! Basically, I'm just asking you guys who's your favorite character in Resurrection. So far, I've recieved one vote each for Ronald, Omega, Cobalion, Terrakion and Arceus. So, to those of you who voted so far, thank you. (Oh, and if you want to tell me which character in Resurrection was your favorite and why, feel free to leave it in the reviews section, hopefully with an actual review alongside it.)

Oh, and if you'd like a visualization of what Ronald might've been like before his sudden death, check out "The Pokemon Master's Cup" by domgk23. I submitted a full bio of what I figure Ronald was like before Resurrection to this SYOC story, including his full team, so you should give it a look if you're interested.

So, that's it for now! I want to thank everyone who's patience has probably been thoroughly tested by my disappearance, as well as everyone who's found my story in the meantime and decided to read it. And as always, the next chapter will come eventually, so stay tuned!


	28. Breaking Down & A Fitting End

Well, I guess I've left everyone in suspense long enough. I officially present my next chapter. This one's going to be a real shocker to quite a few of you, because I'm gonna pull off something quite big. So, without further ado, here we go!

* * *

><p>Ronald crouched as best as he could as the leader of Team Cosmos came up to him, his face contorted in rage. He knew that whatever he was going to do, it wasn't gonna be good.<p>

"You've ruined everything, you meddling brat!" Constantine shouted at Ronald. "The portal's going to close, and I'll never have another chance to utilize Arceus' power to change the world!"

"Good!" Ronald spat at the man, causing him to stop in his tracks, "You really think I want this new world? You think anyone does? You're literally trying to fix something that isn't broken! Maybe some people abuse their Pokemon, sure. And, maybe some Pokemon hurts people, too. But that's unavoidable. What matters is that both people and Pokemon have the _choice_ to do both good and evil! Because, without the bad in the world, what's the point in there being any good?"

"What's the point?! I'll tell you what's the point! I've seen the cruelty people place on their Pokemon. I've watched them beat them to the brink of death, just heal them and do it again. If I can create a world where there's no free will, then everyone can live in peace."

"You mean just make everyone into something little more than machines? Yeah, sounds wonderful. Sign me up." The Keldeo said, the venom and sarcasm in his voice seeping into every word.

Constantine growled. "You wretched little..." The man jumped over to him and clenched Ronald around the neck, squeezing his throat to the point of suffacation. "You don't get it, do you, you piece of Trubbish?!" he spat, "The thing about heroes is that someone will always step up to the plate in the time of need. And that's all I need, a hero. I'll just keep trying and trying until I finally reach my goal. Do you know what that makes you, my boy? Expendable!"

With his life breath being withheld from his body, Ronald knew he needed to act fast in order to stay alive. He tried jerking his head from side to side, try to hit Constantine with his horn. He also began spasming his free leg, trying to give the crazed man a good solid kick. Finally, he was beginning to succumb to the symptoms of asphyxiation, and he dropped to his knees. Seeing his ultimate victory, he changed his position to let Ronald look him in his face as he prepared to finish him off.

However, that proved to be a mistake, as he moved right into the path of Ronald's leg. Noticing this, Ronald swept Constantine off of his feet with his leg and thrust his horn into the middle of his body. Not enough to stab through him, but just enough to send him sprawling away. Constantine groaned as he rolled onto his knees and slowly rose back onto his feet. His face was twisted into a horrifying mask of utter rage as he looked at the chained Keldeo. He rushed towards Ronald, stumbling over his feet as he made his way towards him, when the world suddenly turned upside down.

* * *

><p>"Quickly! Hurry to the exit!" The grunts were stumbling over each other, yelling amongst themselves to hurry away from the collapsing cave. Alpha was standing over his machine, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong, when he was suddenly jerked from his position and was looking straight into the face of one of the Commanders. "C-Commander M. What are you-"<p>

The tall, bulky man who wore a red and black masquerade mask silenced the scientist by shaking him into his machine. "What happened, Q? I thought you said you would be a flawless procedure!"

Shaking in fear, Alpha stammered, "I-It was, C-C-Commander. B-But, Project Z-Zero, he-"

Commander slammed Alpha into his control console again. "I don't care what he did. All I want is for you to fix it! Now!"

"M!" A voice called out from behind the Commander. He turned and saw his fellow Commander, P. A more elderly man, who wore a silver and lightning blue mask and rested on a black and white ringed cane favoring his right leg, Commander P pushed the scientist and Commander apart. "That's enough! Nothing will be gained from attacking Q. The fact is, we all saw what happened up there. Project Zero broke free from his chains somehow and destroyed one of the pillars. The question is, what will happen now, Q?"

Alpha straightened up and explained, "The process that has begun was abruptly halted. There's not enough energy now to strike a hole to the Arceus Space, but that doesn't mean that the energy gathered will disappear. It has to go somewhere, and unfortunately, that means a giant high-energy burst is imminent."

"You're not serious, are you?" A feminine voice asked from behind P. It turned out to be Commander G, and from the look of the half of the face they could see, she was shocked. "But, Lord Constantine is up there! We have to get him!"

"There's no time for that!" Alpha urged, "At this current rate of deterioration, the portal has approximately one minute of stability before it expels all of it's energy. We have to leave now, while we still can!"

Commander G growled. "You can evacuate, if you want, but I'm going to rescue our leader! I can't let it happen again!" And without another words, she charged off into the obstacle course of fallen rubble and debris.

"That idiot is going to kill herself! I have to stop her!" Commander M began moving forward, but Commander P held his cane in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"If she wants to throw her own life away, then let her. If you decide to just charge in there, you'll be no better than she is. Right now, we need to get as many to safety as possible. That is our number one concern, understand?"

Commander M looked off in the direction where G ran to, but he couldn't see her amongst the falling debris. "Fine. Everyone, move!"

* * *

><p>Constantine was right on top of Ronald, ready to pounce on the Pokemon, when suddenly swept off of his feet. And this time, Ronald did not move an inch. The yellow-haired man was actually beginning to float, and this terrified him. "Ah, help me!" he cried out in panic.<p>

Ronald reached out his hoof and yelled at Constantine, "Grab on!" Needless to say, he did not need to be told twice. He lunged forward and grabbed the outstretched hoof and held on for dear life. Apparently, as Ronald attempted to observe, the portal was collapsing, and apparently before it collapses all the way, it was sucking up nearby material as it's imploding, leading Ronald to believe that, whatever is going to happen when it finishes shrinking, it won't be pretty.

Ronald grunted and tried to pull Constantine closer. "Hold on!" was the only thing he could manage to say. It wasn't as if he could do much else. He really wished he had fingers again.

Constantine grabbed on as tight as he could, but he was continually slipping down the Keldeo's leg. One of his hands lost their grip and dangled at his side, leaving him only one hand with which he was holding on with. "You meant what you said about this world, didn't you?" he said quietly, which was almost indiscriminate between the roaring of the wind and the quieting screams of the rest of Team Cosmos.

Ronald looked at the leader, and noticed a calm look in his eyes that he'd never seen before. "Um, of course. I meant every word."

Constantine sighed. "Then do me a favor. Protect your world, and do whatever you can to make it a place where both people and Pokemon can live in peace. Promise me this, please."

Ronald looked at him with shock, but he nodded, "I promise."

Constantine smiled. "I search the world to find a hero to make the world a better place. It seems I made the correct choice." He closed his eyes, and released Ronald's leg.

"Constantine, nooooooo!" Ronald cried out as the golden-haired man fell into the void. His expression was peaceful, and almost royal with his handsome features. Time seemed to slow as Ronald watched the man fall into the rift and sink into the multicolored portal. Just as his face disappeared behind the many colors, the portal rapidly shrunk and simply vanished.

Suddenly, an intense shockwave burst from where the portal was, and Ronald was flung back from the force. It was so great, in fact, that the chains that kept Ronald bound to the altar snapped as if they were made of aluminum, and he was sent flying to the far wall. The pain Ronald felt upon impact was incredible, so much so, that he barely noticed the fact that his entire left side made an audible crunch as he slammed against it. He slid down the wall and landed roughly on the ground, causing a fresh dose of pain to enter his body. His eyes became clouded as he tried to get his bearings, but they dipped into focus just enough for him to see that all of the members of Team Cosmos has apparently escaped.

_Almost all of them._ Ronald thought. He suddenly heard a huge cracking sound in the stone above, and he turned up to see a large piece of rubble falling towards him. _So, this is how I die again. The same way as I did last time, eh?_ The Keldeo chuckled to himself.

_How fitting..._

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><p>Aaaaaand, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger. Don't look at me like that, you should've expected this from me, especially after what I just pulled. To be honest, I was actually going into this chapter thinking that, when Constantine dies, it would make me feel happy about it. But, I just felt that it was wrong to simply classify him as another villain. He really was trying to make the world a better place, but I guess he was under the philosophy of, 'You can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.' So, my hands started moving on their own, and that's what we've got now. Still, I haven't been this depressed about a villain dying since I beat that Hewdraw from Kid Icarus: Uprising.<p>

In other, happier news, my birthday was just a couple of days ago! And, better yet, I've finally turned 18, which means I'm legally an adult. (Still doesn't mean I'm not a child at heart, mind.) As a celebration of this, I have tried to update every single story I have soon. (Except for the one I have on hiatus to think over the storyline.) And, a final surprise, I'm publishing, not one, but two brand new stories on FF! They're both PMD stories, and they are both two intermingling stories, one taking a more traditional choice of Pokemon, while the other features a Pokemon I'm sure everyone's been questioning about for me to feature in a story, a Kecleon! So, be sure to check them out. If you like Resurrection, I'm sure you'll like these two.

Oh, and just to make myself try to hurry, I'm going to try to finish Resurrection by New Year's Day. That only leaves me a month to do so, but now you guys know that this particular story is almost over. So, until the next time I update this story, which may be soon with my new deadline, stay tuned to see what happens next!


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